An Unexpected Trip to Gaea!
by BlueMoonMayfly
Summary: ...HIATUS... Mary Sue ish Nanashi Hikage and Kari Alkia two normal anime crazed 16 year olds get sent to Gaea after taking a wrong turn...Good for them but terrible for the unfortunate people of Gaea as all these girls bring with them is trouble.
1. An Unexpected trip

**An Unexpected Trip To…Gaea!**

**A/N: **Welcome to the first chapter of An Unexpected trip to Gaea! A story linked to Nanashi-hikage's story "An Unexpected trip." This story is Mary Sue ish so I don't want anyone complaining that is it because I have stated that it is and if you don't like reading these types of stories then you should just stay away from them and not insult yourself by putting in a review "God this is so Mary Sue grow up!" because no shit Sherlock its meant to be. For those people that don't mind a Mary Sue type story then I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 1 An Unexpected Trip. **

"Nanashi!" I yelled as I attempted to walk through the trees and thick mud whilst wearing my three inch high and two inch thick steel, healed New Rocks. "Wait up I'm sinking!" Nanashi laughed.

"Well you should have worn your other boots." She answered back finding the terrain no problem in her own platform, knee high New Rock boots. "Come on you crazy red head, Jenbo's party will be over before we get there." Nanashi shouted some feet ahead of me.

I yelled again as my right heal sank in more mud. "You came up with this stupid short cut." I moaned.

Nanashi and I were both aged 16 and on our way to a friends Rave like Halloween party. We had both come dressed like biker chicks. Nanashi wore her trademark knee high; red flamed New Rocks with the fifty buckles and steel toe caps, dark blue jean like; mid thigh shorts, a black strap zipped top, black leather arm warmers/fingerless gloves kept up by another large buckle and naturally biker's goggles on her head. I on the other hand wore my New Rocks which were biker chick styled anyway, black leather trousers, a short; leather jacket and a black top which said 'motorhead' on. I did not wear any goggles like Nanashi as I complained it would mess up my hair.

"Damn mud." I cursed, suddenly I was yanked backwards as my almost floor length hair snagged a branch.

"You okay Kari-Chan?" Nanashi turned to see me fighting with the bush trying to free my beloved hair. "I told you it would be annoying to grow your hair like Washu from Tenchi Muyo." Nanashi stood watching as I finally freed myself.

"Yeah well the main bulk of my hair is only butt length, it's only the point which makes it floor length…unlike yours, yours is just all knee length anyway." I stuck out my tongue to make fun of my friend.

"So I'm not stupid like you and wear it up. Come on we are going to be late." Nanashi complained again when an evil grin appeared on her face. "I know what will get you moving." I stood blankly at Nanashi as she dug around in her backpack. "Ta-da!" My heart sunk as she pulled out my most beloved and worshipped possession…My Folken plushie.

"HOW DID YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON HIM?" I yelled, Nanashi smiled and ran off through the woods in which we were walking. "NANASHI YOU GIVE HIM BACK!"

Nanashi had placed the plushie back in her bag as we ran through the mud, she was much faster then me (due to an obvious difference in foot wear) so we soon parted.

Nanashi stopped as she reached the lake. "Yo! Kari where are you." Nanashi sighed when the moons reflection caught her eye. "Cool it's doubled." She laughed and looked up at the full moon in the sky. Nanashi's eyes widened as she saw the impossible. "Two moons!"

"Nanashi-Chan!" I had just walked out of the wood and saw my friend looking up; I too looked to see what had distracted her although I carried on walking and tripped on a tree root crashing into my friend, sending us both crashing into the shallow water of the lake.

"Damn it Kari!" Nanashi cursed. "What the hell?" She stared at the water which had turned a blood red colour.

"Nanashi!" I pointed up at the two moons in the sky which had also turned a blood red colour. "That isn't right."

Suddenly a pillar of light surrounded us, we both screamed having no idea what was happening.

"Nanashi this is all your fault." I screamed as the light blinded us.

**A/N: **I know its short isn't it...please review


	2. Knights, Melef's and Zaibach

**A/N: ** Sorry for the late update .

**Chapter 2 Knights, Melef's and Zaibach!**

"Hey Ashi-Chan you okay?" I asked as we both sat in the shallow waters of the lake.

"Yeah I'm fine…MY BOOTS!" Nanashi shot out of the water, fearing the condition of her boots almost in tears as they were caked in mud…the fact she was now soaking wet didn't seem to bother her.

"Nice to see you have your priorities straight." I said standing up with a slight moan, I two was soaked but my leather trousers now clung to me making it hard to move and uncomfortable, my hair was also wet which was frustrating.

As Nanashi cleaned her boots I stood looking around us, the area seemed different somehow. I then noticed someone stood in the shadows behind Nanashi.

"Ashi-Chan!" Nanashi looked up at me as I reached in my back pocket for my extending staff which was a gift from my grandfather. Nanashi let out a small squeal and in a flash was stood her two switch blades out in hand.

"My blades! No! They're wet! They'll rust" I sighed.

"They're stainless steal!" I looked back at the figure that had moved closer. I recognized it but it was impossible. "Nanashi!" I pointed to the dark figure behind her.

"It's Shits-hard." Nanashi turned wondering who I was on about blades in hand still.

"Who?" The figure moved into the light his sword drawn. "Oh! Schezar from Escaflowne." Nanashi and I were taken aback as Allen Schezar raised his sword.

"How do you two know of the Escaflowne? Who are you?"

"What us? We're no one really!" Nanashi tried to explain swinging her blades around in a panic.

"Put your weapons down!" The Knight ordered. "Are you Spies from Zaibach? Well are you men?" I looked towards Nanashi as I noticed the angered look on her face.

"Who are you calling a man!?!" She yelled. "Don't you know a woman when you see one you pompous, pnnoying, prissy boy, prat!" I stood back amazed at my friends out burst then started laughing.

"Hahaha! Prissy Boy! It's 'Prissy Boy Allen'!" Nanashi also started laughing at her own words. Our laughter was stopped as the _'prissy boy's'_ sword came closer to our heads.

"You two are coming with me."

We were walked to Allens Castle on the borders of Asturia and locked in a room.

"Hey Esca Freak!" Ashi was stood at a window. "I thought this place burnt down?"

"It did." I answered noticing my friend looking for a way out. "We are either her after the series or before Dilandau burns down this shitty little fort. I take that we are here before everything goes up in flames since Shits-hard made a big deal that we said Escaflowne." Nanashi Nodded. "So got any plans." I asked.

"Yeah you flutter your eyelids and ask prissy boy to let us go." She answered sitting on the window sill.

"Why me!"

"Erm because you can act better then me, and besides I saw him checking out your arse in those trousers and how come_ he_ did your pat down?" Nanashi laughed as I clenched my fists.

"That damn pervert I am so going to castrate him, but how come they didn't check your backpack?" I asked reminded that they only checked if we had any weapons physically on us, thankfully they missed my staff thinking it was nothing.

"They took my beloved switch blades they were _not _taking my backpack and any way isn't it a good thing they didn't check in here. I _do_ have your Folken plushie try explaining that one." We both laughed at the thought.

"I don't see why you two are laughing? The boss is talking with the King of Fanelia right now on what to do with you. Since Zaibach burnt down Fanelia you can only have in mind what he will plan to do." Gaddess had walked into the room with out us realising.

"So what I guess they want to talk to us?" Nanashi said in an arrogant sort of way.

"Naturally." Gaddess led us to Allen's office were he was sat with Van by his side…he was also shorter than we expected although we did have heels on. . (Note:

Van is about 5'4 which is still shorter than Nanashi anyway)

"So you are the girls Allen found?" Van walked up closer to us, "They defiantly look different. I have never seen these types of clothing before…especially on women." Nanashi clenched her fists to save from punching the New King.

"Erm…Excuse me but why are you keeping us here?" I asked sheepishly.

"We need to determine where you young ladies are from and why you were in the lake." Allen answered.

"Well we're not from Zaibach or what ever you call it." Nanashi said.

"Yes I doubt they are, I've never heard of them using women in Zaibach as spies and these two don't seem very useful." Nanashi launched herself at the black haired King's neck infuriated too much, luckily I grabbed her and held her back.

"Let me go Kari! That Punk needs an arse kicking!" I tried as hard as I could to keep hold of my friend.

"Please calm down Ashi-Chan… you will only get us into more trouble!" Van who had moved faster then I thought possible to get away from the raving girl cowered slightly behind Allen.

"You should listen to your friend, as least she seems to have some intelligence." Allen remarked. Nanashi stopped her struggle but I gladly let her go so she could direct her anger on to the prissy boy. She hurdled over the table to reach the blonde and chased him around the room yelling 'I'll show you how intelligent I am when I castrate you and remove your insides' I simply stood by the wall and watched as Allen tried to fend himself off, unsure what to do.

About ten minutes later when Nanashi had calmed down we were both locked in the same room as before.

"Yeah, Yeah I know I screwed up…" Nanashi said after we had sat in silence for too long.

"You're telling me, you let Shits-hard get away… not even a broken nose." I sighed then we both burst out in laughter again.

After a small meal we were left alone again but not for long as Mr. Mole man dug a hole into the room in which we were kept. After a few moments and Nanashi threatening him with possible castration and steel toecaps in the face he agreed to show us a way out of the fort.

"Just a little further ladies."

"Better be you damned Mole Man you know how hard it is to crawl in these boots!" Nanashi moaned.

"What about me? I could hardly walk in these trousers!" I said wishing I had worn them in more since they were like new shoes.

"Here we are." The Mole man announced climbing out of the tunnel. "It seems I made a wrong turn." He said as soon as he had left.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I too climbed out followed by Nanashi.

"Oh cool!" Nanashi ran up to the Escaflowne as the Mole man had directed us to the Guymelef hold. "It's Huge! I wonder how you open it?" Nanashi walked up the steps to reach the cockpit of the famous Ispano Guymelef. I looked around to see several plain looking Melef's when Allen's Melef Scheherazade caught my eye.

"Yo! Esca Freak how you open this thing?" Nanashi shouted towards me. "I wanna see that jerk Van's face when I pilot his beloved little Escaflowne." I turned to see Nanashi try and pull open the cockpit and look for some sort of leaver or button to open the damn thing… I didn't have the heart to ruin her fun and tell her you needed to be of Van's blood to open it.

"Damn thing Open up!" Nanashi yelled and slipped, her hand grabbing the energist holder thing in an attempt to stop herself falling. As soon as her hand touched the energist the cockpit opened.

I stood there gob-smacked as my friend jumped into the seat and began to move the Escaflowne.

"Wow this is just like a video game." Nanashi crashed through the doors to the open court yard. "You coming Kari-Chan?" Nanashi knelt down so I could climb onto the hand of Escaflowne; she lifted me up so I went to stand on the Guymelef's shoulder.

Nanashi easily walked through the court yard leaving all bystanders in the destruction she made.

"Nanashi-Chan do you have to make so much trouble?" I asked looking back.

"Yes." She answered plainly.

After about five minutes we had covered a lot of ground although I was sure Allen would be after us.

"Don't worry Kari -Chan I can defeat the prissy boy, just you sit down and relax." I knew things would not be alright, Nanashi was too confident all the time but I did sit not wanting to get into an argument.

"Yo! White dragon!" Nanashi turned as she heard someone call Escaflowne. "That Melef will belong to Zaibach." Nanashi tried to see where the voice was coming from but there was no one there.

"The stealth cloaks! It must be Zaibach." I said to Nanashi.

"What should we do Kari? I can't fight what I can't see." I sighed there was only one thing to do.

"We have to fight Nanashi; I know my dowsing isn't as good as Hitomi's but Zaibach can't get their hands on Escaflowne just think what they will do to us." Nanashi gulped.

"Where do I go Kari-Chan? I'm trusting you." I closed my eyes and thought of the dragon slayers and their Guymelef's. I saw one just in font.

"Straight ahead Nanashi-Chan." I clung on to the Escaflowne as Nanashi drew its sword and charged, she managed to get an arm off. "To the right!" I yelled, this time the poor dragon slayer was slow to react shocked that she had managed to hit his friend. She plunged the sword right the Guymelef disabling the stealth cloak, she cut at the large armour again watching it as the liquid metal overheated, setting the thing on fire.

"Cool." Nanashi commented.

"Behind us!" Nanashi quickly spun round but it was not fast enough and we were hit. "You okay Ashi-Chan." I looked around as the dragon slayers came out of hiding all forming spikes with their liquid metal ready to kill us if we moved.

"Oh shit!"


	3. Zaibach

A/N: YAY chapter 3 is done XD….Enjoy all.

**Chapter 3 Zaibach.**

"This is bad; this is really; really bad!" Nanashi and I had been captured by the Dragon slayers although we had surprised them when they saw were not Van or 'the mysterious girl from the mystic moon' they still locked us up in a room somewhere on bored the Vione.

"Don't worry Kari-Chan Van and Co will come after the Escaflowne and when they do we can make our escape. You still have you staff right?" I nodded taking it out from my back pocket. Nanashi took it off me. "So how do you work this thing?" She asked shaking it and trying to see if it 'flicked out'

"There's a knack to it." I answered.

Suddenly my staff extended to its full length as Nanashi flicked her wrist, I managed to dodge it but the poor person opening the door to our 'cell' did not being whacked straight in the face.

"Gomen." Nanashi said sheepishly handing me back my staff, "I'll stick with the swords and pointy things." She said in a whisper only I could hear. I laughed and effortlessly retracted the staff and placed it back in my pocket.

We both turned to look at the poor soldier that had felt the force of my staff in the wrong hands.

"Miguel?" I said staring at the poor boy holding his nose as blood dripped down onto the floor.

"Lord Dilandau wants to see the both of you." A voice said behind Miguel.

As Miguel was taken to the medic we were walked down a large hall way to where Dilandau sat waiting. We walked into the impressive sized room to see Dilandau sat in his lion shaped throne the dragon slayers stood around.

"DILLY-SAMA!!!" Nanashi squealed running up to give the young lord a hug although I grabbed her by the collar and almost strangled her. "Kari-Chan what was that for?" She asked sitting on the floor.

"We have to play it cool and dumb I guess." I said looking down at my friend.

"So you are the girls that piloted the Escaflowne?" Dilandau spoke. "They don't look like any one from Zaibach." He rose from his throne and stepped forward.

"Dilandau-Sama." One of the dragon slayers who I recognized to be Chester walked up to his commander. "All our enquiries have turned up negative; these girls are not employed by Zaibach." Dilandau frowned.

"What do you make of it Strategos? Surly you know something." Nanashi saw my eyes widen as Folken walked out from the shadows.

"These young ladies are not from this world." He answered in his cool know it all manner. "I believe they come from the mystic moon. I had heard that one appeared in Fanelia but these two seem to have come together. Which one of you piloted the Escaflowne exactly?" I pointed to Nanashi as she pointed to herself. "I see. And you were the one able to see through my stealth cloaks." I nodded completely struck with seeing him before me. "Take them back to their room." Folken ordered the dragon slayer.

_About 4 hours later_

"Yo Chester got any 3's"

"No go fish." Nanashi sighed.

"Man I hate this game cant we play poker or black jack… I could teach you all."

"Be quiet and play Ashi-Chan." I said taking three 6's off Gatty.

"Yeah only because you're winning." Nanashi huffed.

"What the hell??" We all turned to see Dilandau stood at the door to our room. "What are you men doing?"

"Playing 'Go fish'. Wanna join?" Nanashi asked patting a space on the floor next to her.

"I wasn't talking to you woman!" Dilandau yelled.

"HEY DON'T YELL AT ME!!" Nanashi yelled back standing up, dropping her cards.

"I think we should move." I said to the dragon slayers who were playing with us.

"Why?" Asked Gatty

"Because you haven't seen Nanashi at full rage that's why." I said getting up and stepping away from two teens.

"I AM THE LORD HERE LISTEN TO ME!"

"YEAH LIKE IM GOING TO LISTEN TO SOMEONE SHORTER THAN ME!!"

"I'M NOT THAT SHORT!!" Nanashi took a step closer to the leader of the dragon slayers and proved she was about an inch taller.

"You have really big boots on though Nanashi-san." Chester said standing up for his commander. Nanashi turned round to glare at the poor Dragon slayer, flames evident in her eyes. "Never mind…" Chester stepped back so he was cowering beside me.

"Told you so."

"LEAVE MY DRAGONSLAYERS ALONE!"

"WHAT SO YOU CAN SLAP THEM LIKE THE GIRL YOU ARE BUT I CANT."

"YOU'RE A PRISONER HERE ACT LIKE ONE!"

"HEY I COULD KICK YOUR ARSE ANYDAY AND EASILY GET OUT OF HERE IF I WANTED TO!!!"

"THEN WHY DON'T YOU?"

"Because its fun here." Dilandau was taken aback by the sudden change of tone. "And I don't have my switch blades on me."

"Are you done now Nanashi?" I asked picking up the cards. Nanashi nodded.

_4 more hours later…_

"HAHA hand it over she-male." Nanashi held out her hand to receive the last layer of Dilandau's clothing before his boxers.

"Damn it you cheater." Dilandau stood and removed his red and black trousers, we all burst out in laughter as we saw the dragon slayer did not wear boxers but green briefs.

"I told you not to play against her." I said as I sat in the corner reading a book on Gaea I had borrowed from one of the dragon slayers.

"Shut up I will not loose." Dilandau clenched his fist as everyone in the room laughed at him. Dilandau was the worst off in the group; the others had just lost their swords and shirts to Nanashi.

"Dilandau-Sama what is going on here?" Jajuka had walked in on us playing poker. "These girls are supposed to be prisoners!"

"Yeah so! Folken said I could do as I wished with them." Dilandau answered innocently.

"That sounds wrong somehow." Nanashi pondered. "What you going to do molest us!"

"Nanashi-Chan you're the one that's got him in his underwear!" I said behind my book.

"Well it's his fault for being so crap at poker." Nanashi said putting on Dilandau's jacket.

"Dilandau-Sama you and the dragon slayers are needed else where so I suggest young lady that you return their things to them." Nanashi sighed and slowly gave back Dilandau and the dragon slayers their clothing back although it took a long time for Nanashi to part with Dilandau's coat.

We were then left in the room by ourselves again.

"Kari-Chan?" Nanashi whined after five minute of silence.

"No!" I answered plainly.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" She huffed

"You were going to ask if I wanted to play a card game, one which involves gambling knowing you." I went back to reading my book as Nanashi searched for her bag.

"Yo! Kari-Chan…now will you play cards with me." I looked up to see what my friend was talking about when I saw my beloved Folken plushie in her hands once again.

"You give him back!" I yelled, jumping up from my seat.

"Come get him!" she taunted.

I chased Nanashi around the small room trying in vain to take my beloved plush doll from her, she threw it across the room as I rugby tackled her to the ground.

I watched as the plush Folken hit the door frame with a small 'squeak' then landed on the floor with a bounce only to have the real Folken stood at the door watching the whole thing.

He slowly bent down and picked up the small plush version of himself; he looked at the doll for a few moments then left closing the door behind him.

"Folken stole my Folken plushie!" I whimpered.


	4. The not so damsels in distress

**A/N: **welcome to chapter 4 hope you all enjoy and sorry for the shortness of this chapter too.

**Chapter 4 The not so damsels in distress.**

Four days had passed since we were captured and taken to the Vione. Nanashi had finally mastered how to open up my staff and retract it again and I had read every book that the dragon slayers were able to get their hands on. We were now very bored. The dragon slayers did come play cards with us when they had the time but refused to play poker and games they found that Nanashi had also mastered, so we stuck with 'Go fish', 'shit-head' and 'Dai Hin Min' although they also go boring.

"Kari-Chan I'm so bored I wish we could just escape this place." Nanashi moaned.

"Oh and go where exactly this is known as a 'floating' fortress. Not that easy to get off." Nanashi stuck out her tongue as I laughed.

"I wish these beds were softer." Nanashi began to moan.

"Yeah and that we could have a proper shower and everything." I added to the complaints.

"A change of clothes…" Nanashi grumbled.

"Hey at least they gave us some clean underwear!" I stated.

"True I guess the dragon slayers boxers are better then dirty underwear." We sighed becoming fed up that they still treated us like criminals.

_Several hours later… _

"YAY I win!" I yelled as placed down all my cards.

"…Again." Chester said unenthusiastically.

"I told you not to play Dai Hin Min against Kari-Chan…I may rule at poker and most card games but she will forever win that one." Nanashi said as she sat playing blackjack with Dilandau (he was determined to win back his pride but was losing again).

Suddenly the Vione jolted sending us all flying.

"What was that?" Nanashi asked. The dragon slayers all looked at each other then at their commander.

"Go find out then if you want to know…hey lay down my card and don't cheat!" Dilandau was too busy trying to beat Nanashi to care; she had claimed his jacket, sword, boots and shit again.

The dragon slayers glad to get away saluted their commander and left. I sat by the small window and picked up the latest book Dilandau had managed to 'borrow' from Folken for me titled 'The history of Zaibach'.

About ten minutes had passed since the dragon slayers had left us; Dilandau was now back in his underwear although this time wore boxers and I was well into my book when our door was rammed open.

We all turned to see who had opened our door surprised to see Allen although he seemed more surprised to see us the way we were.

"Allen!" Dilandau exclaimed standing up and reaching for his sword then realizing Nanashi had it all blushed since he was stood in his boxers before the knight.

"…" Allen stood in silence unsure on how to react.

"Hey Shits-hard how's it going? Come to get the Escaflowne back? Sorry about Nanashi she's very stubborn." I stood placing my makeshift bookmark in-between the pages.

"So what you doing here?" Nanashi asked bluntly also standing Dilandau's jacket surprisingly looking good on her.

"I came to rescue you." He said still shocked at the sight of the young pyro maniac in his boxer shorts and his two damsels in distress well not in distress.

"Rescue? Dude I enjoy being here I had quite a lot fun playing cards besides WHO EVER SAID I NEEDED YOUR HELP DICKWEED!" Nanashi yelled as Dilandau snuck out the room.

"Dickweed…that's a new one." I answered standing beside my friend.

Nanashi laughed, "You like? I've had loads of time to think of new insults."

"Look you two are coming with me, we need to get you somewhere safe Zaibach are dangerous." Allen said trying his best.

"And where do you plan to take us? That shit little fort of yours isn't safe it's very flammable." I asked.

Allen sighed. "We plan to go to Palas now please come with us or we will be led to believe that you have joined Zaibach and that you two are now our enemies."

"Hey Kari-Chan." Nanashi whispered. "Who wins this thing anyway?"

"Not Zaibach." I answered with a smile. "In fact this place gets shot down and sinks and lots of Zaibach people die!" Nanashi gulped.

"Off to Palas it is then!" She chirped walking out the door.

Somehow we all managed to get off the Vione in one piece and were on our way to Palas. We later found out that Dilandau had gone after Van and still received the scar on his face and that we were forgiven for taking the Escaflowne. Nanashi didn't care though she had Dilandau's jacket.

_Back at the Vione…_

"Folken-Sama! The girls from the mystic moon have escaped and they have taken back the Escaflowne.

"Is that so?" Folken said calmly sat at his desk, his back to the solider reporting the news. "That can't be helped." The solider bowed and left.

Folken stared at the little Plush of himself he had taken from me days before. "What unusual girls."

A/N:

me: TT my poor Folken plushie he gets left behind

Nanashi: YAY I HAVE DILLY-SAMA'S JACKET.

Me: (kills Nanashi) don't rub it in …


	5. Nanashi versus Knight

**Chapter 5 Nanashi versus Knight!**

As we flew to Palas on Allens ship Nanashi floored the crew at poker claiming just about all their weapons I watched as she walked into our room carrying even more stuff still wearing Dilandau's jacket.

"Yo! Kari-Chan feeling better?" Nanashi asked as I had been feeling ill from the flying.

"Yeah surprising I've been on boats and planes as well as the Vione but as soon as I step foot on this shit ship I feel sick." I groaned.

Nanashi laughed, "Wanna play a game?" She asked with a grin.

"No thanks Ashi-Chan I'm not stupid like these crew members I know I can't defeat you at poker and it will forever be that way." Nanashi smiled she knew I was right.

"Yo Ashi-Chan!" One of the crew members said stood in our door way, "Fancy another game?" He asked holding a deck of cards.

"Sure but I'm warning you." Nanashi waved 'see you later' as she left with the crew member to claim more things.

Just as Nanashi left Allen walked through my door.

"How are you feeing Kari-San?" He asked leaning on the door fame.

"I _was_ feeling better till_ you_ came in bothering me." I said with a sigh lying down on the small bed. Allen walked in to the room more but was suddenly thrown forward as the crusade violently jolted.

"Are you okay Kari-san." Allen asked but I was in no condition to answer back as I ran across the small room to a bowl where I was sick. "I will take that as a 'no'"

"Shut up!" I yelled. "It's your fault for having a bad excuse for a ship like this." I stopped as I was sick again. Allen laughed slightly and placed a small bottle beside me.

"Here it will help you feel better." He said as he left me to further empty my stomach. As Allen walked back down the halls to find out why the crusade had been thrown aside he walked past the room where Nanashi and some of the crew were playing poker.

"Yo! Shits-hard want to play?" Nanashi asked seeing him stop.

"Please stop calling me that." Allen sighed.

"Fine if you even win ONE game against me I will stop calling you Shits-hard and call you Sir Allen." Nanashi grinned as Allen sat down beside his half naked comrades.

After about an hour and taking some of the medicine I had received from the blond knight I decided to get some air. As I walked down the hall I also came across the small gang of people playing cards.

I sighed, "I see she got you too?" I said standing by the door.

"Kari-Chan you're feeling better?" Nanashi asked dealing the cards. "Yeah Shits-hard is shit at poker." Nanashi said as she saw me looking disapprovingly at the knight who was now in his underwear like many of his crew members. "Looks like I will be calling you shits-hard from now on." Nanashi grinned. I looked over at the cards she had and sighed.

"Perhaps not Nanashi-san." Allen was confident I stepped over and looked at his cards also I looked up to Ashi-Chan.

"He has a good hand." I said a look of triumph spread across the group who had folded early.

Allen lay down his cards.

"Straight flush." He said with a smile.

Nanashi sighed. "You played a good game…too bad Shits-hard." Allen couldn't believe it as Nanashi placed a Royal flush down. "You still couldn't beat me." Nanashi and I did a high five as once again she won. "So as promised Kari-Chan and I get to do as we wish in Palas and get to stay at the place as guests just like Hitomi." Allen sighed and nodded.

Finally we had some freedom.

When we finally arrived in Palas we were met by the Princess Millerna who Nanashi disliked at first sight.

"I hate her!" Nanashi said as I sat on the other side of the screen.

"Yeah me too but at least we get a bath now." I said. Nanashi and I had been given a room to share and maids had prepared one of us a bath which was just a tin bath filled with hot water I had allowed Nanashi to go first since I would take forever cleaning my hair and she would most likely run off somewhere whilst I did.

"So she's the one that likes Shits-hard right?" Nanashi asked.

"Yeah she's very annoying when it comes to the subject, but she's engaged to some other bloke so we can ignore her. I wonder what's going on in Zaibach?" I pondered on the thought.

"I don't know I think the dragon slayers will be getting more work done now we've gone." We both laughed as there came a knock at the door. "Get that would you?" Nanashi asked.

"Naturally." I walked to the door and opened it, there was a maid stood there with some folded garments. "You wont get Ashi-Chan in one of those." I said to the maid.

"Get me in what?" She asked from behind the screen popping her head around.

"A dress!" I answered taking them off the maid and closing the door before asking her if they could set up another bath.

"A what?" she asked walking across the room in a white bath robe brushing her hair. "I am not wearing one of those!" Nanashi stated picking up the pink and white, floor length dress. "I'm going to find something else."

"You cant walk around in just a bath robe Nanashi-Chan, wear it for now then go find something for us to wear as I have my bath." I said looking at the other dress.

After an hour Nanashi returned, she had found some other clothes. I looked up to see Nanashi in a short black/blue dress with a almost gold trim the dress had a white band across the waist, it was off the shoulder and sleeveless with an attached cape, she wore matching arm warmers and a pair of ankle boots.

"Nice outfit, where did you get it?" I asked as I pulled my hair up into a pony tail for once, taking it off the ground.

"Just found it really." I looked suspiciously at my friend. "Never mind where I got it here take yours." I took the outfit from my friend and put it on. "I thought that would be more your style." She said as I stepped out from behind the screen. The outfit she had found me was a pair of black, like leggings (most likely 'borrowed' form Millerna as the looked just like hers) a dress similar to her own although shorter and more flowing. The dress or it was more like a long top was a dark red with a black band around the waist; it was off the shoulder but had long sleeves which looked like they belonged to a druids robe.

"It's cool, reminds me of my kendo outfit almost." I said lifting up my arms to see the length of the sleeves.

As we walked down to the dinning room Nanashi and I caught the eyes of several guards who had never seen women dressed in such a manner.

As we sat down at the dinning table I noticed Millerna look disapprovingly at what we were wearing.

"So Sir Allen you come to Palas with three young ladies and the King of Fanelia, what a combination." The King of Asturia who I whispered to Nanashi was called King Aston was sat at the head of the table the Escaflowne behind him. To his left their sat an old friend of his a merchant who wasn't important then his two daughters Eries and Millerna, Van was sat on the Kings right it then went Allen Hitomi, me and Nanashi…she insisted she was NOT going to sit next to Millerna.

Dinner was very boring, I had told Nanashi not to say anything and not to drink the wine so she wasn't talking to me and the King seemed not to notice us although we were glad.

"There you are!" Nanashi said coming up the stairs to the roof where I had placed myself on top of the wall reading a book I had claimed from the palace library.

"What are you doing at up there?" She asked standing below me.

"What are you doing with that sword?" I asked clearly noticing the long sword in a black scabbard attached to my friend's waist.

"I borrowed it form the arms room." She answered innocently. "Anyway where did you get that book?" Nanashi in her typical way attempted to change the

subject.

"The library."

"This Palace has a library?" Somehow she seemed too shocked to hear that the palace indeed had a library.

"Yes it's huge I'm amazed you haven't come across it yet considering you found the small arms room…" Nanashi laughed drawing the sword she had claimed.

"The swords call out to me!" She answered taking a few swings.

"You have good form Nanashi-san." Allen had come up the stairs to the roof I had forgot that they liked to hang around on roofs. "Kari-san you shouldn't be sat up there." He said sounding concerned. My eye twitched irritated.

"Oh sure worry about the person sitting on a perfectly stable wall when there's a glorified nut case swinging a sword around."

"Hey I'll have you know I'm well trained in the art of sword fighting I'M ONLY A NUT CASE when I'm chasing people trying to mildly attack them" Nanashi responded with a grin.

"Well perhaps you would like a go against me Nanashi-san?" Allen asked drawing his sword. "I would like to see how talented you really are." Nanashi grinned ear to ear at the prospects of fighting the best in Palas.

"Be careful." I said placing my bookmark between the pages as I indented to watch this battle.

"Yeah, yeah I know." Ashi-Chan said with a sigh.

"I was talking to Shits-hard." Allen quickly glanced at me to wonder what I was on about as Nanashi made the first move; she had removed her boots so was much faster than without. "Don't hurt him too much Okay Ashi-Chan." Allen blocked a move.

"Did I forget to tell you I have never been beaten?" Nanashi went in for another attack, without her boots she was 2 inches shorter which made a big difference against the 6 foot knight she was able to avoid his sword and get in close. He blocked again this time he attacked pushing Nanashi back.

Nanashi grinned…she was up to something.

She stepped back a little more then further, when she was on the other side of the roof top she began to run towards Allen; she jumped up just as he expected her to attack doing a forwards flip in the air she landed behind Allen I gasped as I realized what she had done.

"What's wrong Kari-Chan?" Allen faced me his back to Nanashi I tied not to look mortified or burst out in laughter as Nanashi waved a chunk of long blond hair in her hand. He turned to see what Nanashi was doing but she hid the chopped off hair behind his back, my jaw dropped as I saw that she had cut at an angle starting at his shoulders going down. "What is it?" He asked turning back to me seeing my expression.

"Gottogo!" Nanashi said throwing Allen's hair back to him and running down the stairs past Van and Hitomi.

"I wonder what's got into her?" Van asked as he reached the top of the stairs to see Allen stood looking at his chopped off hair on the floor.

"Erm…Shits-hard…you okay?" I asked sheepishly.

"It doesn't look too bad!" Nanashi said as I stood cutting Allen's hair straight. He was sat in his room facing a mirror as I cut about five years of hair away. "You look way manlier with SHORT hair…" Nanashi teased.

"Nanashi stop it." I said clipping away.

"What? At least he can still have it in a pony tail." I knew Nanashi was holding back the laughter and so was I. "I bet you feel like Kurama-Chan as he cut Urameshi's hair." With that I burst out in laughter still with the scissors. I bit my lip as I accidentally cut too much hair. "Perhaps we should forget the pony tail idea." Ashi said as I threw a brush at her to get out of the room, I could still hear her laughing all down the hall way.

A/N: MWHAHAHAHAHAH THE HAIR IS GONE!!!!


	6. I believe i can fly!

**A/N:** Welcome one and all to chapter 6 of An Unexpected Trip to Gaea…I hope you enjoy the randomness.

**Chapter 6 I believe I can fly!**

"Yo! Shits-hard nice hair cut!" Nanashi teased as she walked past the blonde knight. Following the events of the previous night I had carefully cut Allens hair to make it straight again which everyone had noticed and unfortunately for him he had attracted

a lot of attention with his hair in a short lose pony tail and two bangs at the front.

"NANASHI HIKAGE GET YOUR ARSE HERE RIGHT NOW!!!" I yelled from down the hall, Nanashi was being punished for creating 'problems' for the people of the palace and her punishment was to clean the entire army stables.

"Why do I have to go Kari-Chan?" Nanashi moaned childishly. "I didn't create any problems…"

"Problems! You ran around the palace with Allens hair dropping bits everywhere and when you were done threw it in the face of the crowned princess shouting 'if you like Allen so much here's a little memento of your not so long haired knight'" Nanashi laughed at the memory."

"You forgot that I 'borrowed' this sword and that I kicked the butts of all the Austrian soldiers that faced me." Nanashi added with a grin. I glared at my friend as she listed the people she had defeated and how long it took.

"Come on you!" I said interrupting her and dragging her off by her collar to the stables. "I'll help since I should never have left you with that sword." I sighed as Nanashi moaned and protested against it.

_4 hours later…_

"DAMN IT!!" Nanashi yelled as she threw down the rake they had given her, "WHY DO THEY HAVE SO MANY GOD DAMN HORSES!!!" I laughed as my friend flopped down on the floor.

"Well it wouldn't be a very good army without them." I answered as I brushed the neck a of a white horse.

"Why do I get stuck cleaning up shit as you brush the damn horses." Nanashi glared as she stood again leaning on the rake.

"Because _I _haven't done anything wrong." I smiled as my friend shovelled more horse manure into the container. As I brushed the horse Nanashi finally had enough as she slid and fell over, I couldn't help but laugh which made her lose her temper even more badly as she flung the horse manure at me using the rake. I managed to dodge but unfortunately Van was in the firing line as he came to see if Nanashi was keeping to her punishment.

"Oh shit!" Nanashi cursed as the manure hit the king of Fanelia straight in the face.

"Yeah literally." Van was silent as he wiped away most of the manure.

Nanashi and I looked at each other as Van stood fuming. "Nanashi Hikage-san, "he finally said with a deep breath. "YOU'RE DEAD!!" Nanashi let out a little 'eeek' as she bolted over the container of manure and out the other end of the stables, Van chasing after her.

"There goes my peaceful day." I sighed picking up Nanashi's things.

As Nanashi ran around the grounds of the palace she made a mental map of the place for future reference. Nanashi was faster than Van and some way ahead so in true Nanashi style she taunted the young King.

"YO! Shit-face try catching me if you can!" She yelled as she ran through a group of soldiers training, they stopped as they saw her coming and watched her as she was chased by Van.

"I wonder what she's done now?" One of the soldiers pondered since they were the group she had defeated and had already grasped what her personality was like.

Nanashi ran faster turning a corner and loosing Van, she noticed a small door in the wall was opened and couldn't help but let her curiosity take over. She opened the door further then slipped in as Van ran past.

"Baka!" She said silently to herself happy that she had lost the king. Nanashi looked round the dimly lit room to find that she was in the Guymelef hold.

"I knew you would end up here somehow." I said walking out from behind one of the Guymelef's, Nanashi grinned as she noticed which Melef I was stood next to. "They made it look like an Austrian Melef so not to draw attention to themselves. I never did like Asturia, nothing more than puppets to Zaibach." I said as Nanashi walked closer to the Escaflowne.

"So you don't have any objection to me taking it then?" She asked with a raised eyebrow unsure of my motives.

"Do as you please." I answered plainly.

"All right!" Nanashi clambered up onto the Escaflowne and opened it by placing her hand over its energist. "Good it worked." She jumped in and stood up; she pulled off all the Austrian fabric and forced the doors to the yard open. "Now how do you make this thing fly?" She wondered as suddenly the Escaflowne transformed into its Dragon form. "Cool, Hey Kari you coming too?" My friend asked her hand reached out to me as soldiers and guards flooded the area.

"What and leave you alone? I don't think so." I jumped up and sat down behind her as she pulled on the controls and was off, we managed to hear van curse as we left.

"WOW THIS IS SO AMAZING!!" Nanashi yelled as we flew over the city of Palas. Nanashi flew faster heading towards the mountains.

"Hey where are you going?" I asked looking around, "Do you know that this way heads to Fanelia, the direction we just came from." I stated plainly like it was common knowledge.

"So almighty bookworm, which way do we go?" Nanashi huffed.

"Depends where you want to go?" I asked sitting back in the small seat.

"Zaibach where all the fun is!" Nanashi said making a sharp turn back towards the city.

"North then." I sighed, clinging on to the seat as she turned violently north. "Nanashi please drive carefully."

"But that's no fun Kari-Chan!" Nanashi flew low creating a gust on the people in the streets. "Let's see what this thing can do!" Suddenly Nanashi turned again and few upwards, she pulled on the controls forcing the Dragon like Guymelef to do a looptie loop then into another one like a roller coaster.

"Yo! You okay back their Kari-Chan?" Nanashi asked looking over her shoulder at me as I tugged on her cape.

"Yeah just stop with the looptie loops okay?" I asked holding my hand against my mouth.

"Fine just don't hurl on me Okay? If you do, do it over the side."

As Nanashi and I flew in the direction of Zaibach I had the unusual feeling that we were being watched although I shrugged off the feeling.

"Lord Dilandau Sir, The Escaflowne has been spotted." Reported the Dragon Slayers.

"Damn that Van! I will make him pay for what he did to my beautiful face." Dilandau said as he touched the wound on his right cheek.

"What are our orders Lord Dilandau Sir?" Asked Chester.

"Capture the Escaflowne." Dilandau growled.

"Nanashi-Chan look out!" I screamed as a ball of fire headed towards us.

"What the fuck!?!" She cursed turning violently yet again to avoid to attack.

"It's Zaibach!" I yelled, "They must think we are Van and Hitomi."

"Bugger it! Can't they see I'm not that arse Van?" Nanashi turned and flipped to avoid the balls of fire. "Hold on!" She yelled but I was pre-occupied telling her which way to go so didn't hear her warning as she turned again. I lost my grip and fell from Escaflowne.

"Nanashi-Chan!!!" I yelled as I fell head first.

"SHIT! KARI!" Nanashi turned to avoid another fire ball but it hit the wing, she lost control and the Escaflowne glided wildly. "DAMN IT!!" Nanashi let go of the controls and jumped over the side of the Escaflowne, bringing her arms to her sides to make her fall faster.

"NANASHI YOU IDIOT! WHO'S GOING TO SAVE YOU?" I yelled as she came closer to me, unfortunately the ground was also getting steadily closer too.

"Lord Dilandau Sir! The pilots of the Escaflowne are not our targets. It's the girls Nanashi-san and Kari-san!" Gatty yelled over the communicator.

"FUCK!" Dilandau cursed loudly, "CATCH THEM!" the Dragon slayers moved from their current positions to catch us as we carried on to fall.

"DAMN IT KARI!" Nanashi continued to yell as she grabbed my wrist. "If we die I'm blaming you!"

Suddenly we jolted upwards as a pair of bright, white wings burst from Nanashi's back. The surprise almost made her drop me again.

"What the Hell?" My friend questioned looking at the wings she now adorned. "Oh my fucking god they're bloody white!" As we slowly descended the dragon slayers landed near by deactivating their stealth cloaks.

Nanashi dropped me the last few feet and hovered in the air. "Wow they are so cool!" I stated as I looked up.

"Why?" She moaned. "Why do they have to white?" Nanashi crossed her legs and sat floating as the dragon slayers approached. "Why white, angel wings of all things?" Nanashi looked as if she was about to cry.

"Nanashi-san, Kari-san are you two alright?" One of the Dragons slayers asked.

"We will live." I answered with a smile as he stared at Nanashi and her wings.

"Yeah you might but look at me I have WHITE wings!" Nanashi snapped.

"HEY YOU CHEATING BITCH!" Dilandau came storming up to us. "GIVE ME BACK MY JACKET!" The head of the dragon slayers ordered.

"Nice to see your concern." Nanashi growled. "And does it look like I have YOUR BLOODY JACKET!" I laughed as Nanashi turned her winged back on the young pyromaniac who stood silently a clear anger mark on his temple.

"Lord Dilandau Sir, we have captured the Escaflowne and preparations for its boarding of the Vione are under way." Chester reported.

"Yeah for the second time." Nanashi added.

"Yes and we do keep seeming to help you in your missions of the capture of the white dragon." Dilandau turned his red like eyes on me as not to remind him that he had had assistance.

After Nanashi's wings disappeared we were transported back onto the Vione and back to the 'cell' he had gotten to know well.

"DAMN IT!!!" Nanashi yelled as she kicked the door. "WHY DID THEY LOCK IT!?!" She yelled as she kicked the iron door again.

"I don't know why you are complaining you could easily pick that lock open, I'm sure I could." I stated as I sat on the floor with a game of solitaire.

"Oh yeah!" Nanashi grinned devilishly. "Hey Kari-Chan fancy a walk?" She asked pulling out a hair pin.

A/N: Anyone else notice Nanashi yells 'Damn it' 4 times in this chapter, 'Bloody' twice, says 'shit' 5 times, as well as 'what the hell' and 'bugger'...just a random thought


	7. More mayhem on the Vione

**A/N: Sorry for the late update but this is a long chapter for once (3000 words XD) so I hope you enjoy.**

Disclaimer:…Knew I forgot one of these…. Any way I do not own Escaflowne or anything related, this stands for all previous and future chapters.

**Chapter 7 More mayhem on the Vione.**

"So where do you wanna go?" Nanashi asked as we strolled along on of the corridors of the Vione.

"I don't know, we don't know our way around here." I answered looking around thinking how everything looked so the same.

"Hmmm, well shall we just walk around and see where we come to?" She asked turning to me.

"Okay then." I shrugged.

We walked around for about five minutes until Nanashi found a room of interest. I hadn't noticed and carried on walking.

"Hey Kari-Chan I think I found something that might be fun to investigate." I walked back to her and looked into the small room, there was a desk to one side and the walls were lined with books and cabinets and a door led of to another room. "Wow, lookie." Nanashi chipped as she wrapped the overly sized black cloak around her. "Either he has more than one or that he hasn't got it on right now." She randomly pondered. "I wonder where this door goes?" She thought getting distracted again. "Wow, that's a big bed!" Nanashi seemed to glide across the room as she noticed the cabinet containing Folken's liquor. "So he drinks alcohol?" She said more to herself then to me as she picked the lock.

"You sound surprised, considering wine is just about all they drink on Gaea." I said as she looked at the wine after successfully picking the lock on the cabinet.

"I thought you would be looking for your Folken Plushie by now?" She said to me looking quite odd in Folken's Sorcerers cloak the high collar just coming above her head.

"You think he left it in here?" I asked as I looked in the cabinets picking the locks as I went (Nanashi had taught me how years ago).

"Yeah that or it's in his bedroom over there." She answered pointing towards the other door. "I bet you it's in there."

"What ever." I turned my back on her and carried on looking, I began to search his desk coming across a locked draw.

Unbeknownst to me Nanashi had left the room taking four bottles of wine with her, as she walked down the hall in the opposite direction we had come in Folken was returning to his room and spotted the young girl scurrying off in his cloak around a corner. He saw that his room door was open and stepped in just as I had opened the lock on the draw and found my Folken Plush.

"There you are!" I said happily picking up the plush doll.

"I could say the same thing about you." I screamed and fell over the chair at the desk as Folken made his presence known. I stood and stared at the young Sorcerer who as Nanashi had guessed was not wearing another cloak and instead a cream piece of fabric much like a cloak worn to one side was covering the false arm.

"How did you get out of your room?" He asked sternly his brown/red eyes noticing the plushie held tightly in my arms.

"Same way I got into the draw." I answered, pushing it closed and stepping away from the desk. "Wait what happened to Nanashi?" I asked changing the subject noticing she had left the room.

"Your Friend left down the hall." Folken answered gesturing that I leave his room and find her.

"Bugger I think she took some wine with her."

As I walked down the hall, still tightly holding my Folken plushie and with the real version following behind me I heard the unmistakable sound of Nanashi's voice…and what I heard wasn't good.

I opened the door to the room which I found out to be Dilandau's throne room to see Nanashi stood (still in Folken's cloak) on the arm of the large lion throne.

"NOW THE WARS OVER MUSSOLINI'S DEAD!" She yelled half singing rocking and kicking up her legs as if she was marching. "HE WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN WITH THE CROWN UPON HIS HEAD!" She carried on singing, I noticed that she had a almost empty bottle in her hand and that Dilandau was sat in his chair laughing at her some of the dragon slayers stood by the wall looking concerned but too afraid to step in.

"THE LORD SAYS NO…YOU'VE GOT TO GO BELOW…HE'S ALL DRESSED UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO!" As she finished the song she flung her arms back and fell over onto Dilandau's lap, they both laughed manically.

"Who's Mussolini?" Dilandau asked in-between the laugher.

"Some fat, dictator guy that _died_." She answered, Nanashi stood up although didn't notice myself and Folken stood at the door. She gulped down the rest of the bottle.

"See the little goblin." She began to sing.

"Oh my god please shoot me!" I sighed, recognising the song.

"See his little feet." Nanashi made her way across the room towards poor Miguel who was stood beside the others. "See his little nosey wosey." She continued prodding the dragon slayers nose. "Isn't the goblin sweet?" She sang pinching his cheeks.

Suddenly Nanashi's face went pale as she stopped laughing and before Miguel could ask if she was alright she had emptied the contents of her stomach onto his shoes.

Naturally Dilandau was having a laughing fit at the expense of his dragon slayers, until they noticed Folken walking into the room Nanashi also noticed him and seemed to quickly get over her sickness.

"Look it's the little birdie-man." She said pointing at the Leader of the Vione. "Strategoos… Strateago… Stratagoat?" Dilandau laughed as she tried to remember his name. Folken stood still keeping his calm unlike the Dragon slayers who were crapping their pants in fear of what would happen.

"Nanashi please stop this." I said walking up to my friend.

"KARI!" She screamed taking me in a bear hug. "I don't know what you see in him you know?" She began pointing over to Folken, her arm around my shoulders.

"He's just a birdie-goat man that has a claw…oooooo it's the claw!" She mocked pretending that her hand was a claw. I blushed as Nanashi continued, "I bet you _really _wanted to come back here…you know with Prissy boy hitting on you like that I would have castrated him by now…I bet you wouldn't mind if it was Birdie-goat though." I felt my cheeks burn as she openly said that I had a crush on Folken although I had little time to react as I noticed Nanashi turn pale again. I pushed her off me as she was sick again.

"I think we need to get you back to our room." I stated as I placed one of her arms around my shoulders and walked her out of the room…making sure not to look at Folken or any of the Dragon slayers as I left.

"Awww…Kari-Chan you're so boring." She moaned as I walked her back to our room.

III

"Wow my head hurts." Nanashi stated as she sat up. "But not as much as I would have thought it would."

"Well you were out for 48 hours."

"Really? What happened?" She asked turning to me as I sat on my bed playing a game of solitaire.

"You stole 4 bottles of Folken's liquor, got rat-arsed with Dilandau and made a complete fool out of yourself." I answered plainly not taking my eyes off my game.

"Well yeah I knew the first part but come on it wasn't that bad?" She asked.

"You did sing the Mussolini song." Nanashi cringed. "And the Goblin song…to Miguel." Nanashi flopped back on to her pillow.

"Did I really?" She asked concerned. I Nodded. "Shit."

"Oh and does 'The Birdie-goat man' ring any bells?" Nanashi shot up again.

"I didn't?" She asked with a gasp.

"You did." I answered.

"Oh bloody hell, I'm such an idiot!" She cursed as she stomped around the room. "Is this a different room?" She pondered suddenly.

"Yeah they decided we needed a more _secure_ room, this one has bolts on the outside and if you haven't noticed we don't have windows either." Nanashi looked at all the walls then sat back on her bed.

"Wanna play a game of shit head?"

"Okay, three rows?" I asked as I dealt the cards.

III

Later that day after losing six consecutive games of shit head that is until I noticed my friend cheating I was glad to leave the room as we were required to stand before Folken and receive a punishment.

"I wonder what our punishment will be?" Nanashi asked as the guard escorted us to where were to go.

"I'm guessing yours will be worse than mine." I said walking slightly in front of her. After not hearing a response I turned to see that as we had turned a corner Nanashi had not. "Damn that girl!" The guard in a panic left me to go find her as he had been warned that she might try something like that, naturally he told me to stay, and naturally I didn't.

"Hey Strategos." I said casually as I walked into his room. The Blue-ish haired man sighed when he saw I was alone.

"Where is Hikage-san?"

"Don't know." I shrugged then sitting down on a large, padded chair resting my feet on a table. "She disappeared yet again, and I believe she stole the guards lighter too. The lamps on the Vione are Gas right?" Folken sighed placing his index and middle fingers of his left hand to his temple in irritation.

"Stay here." He demanded taking his leave most likely to order some soldiers to find the disruptive child.

_With Nanashi_.

Nanashi walked along the corridors of the Vione musing herself with the lighter she had 'borrowed' off the guard when she too noticed that the lamps in the Vione were indeed gas powered, naturally the pyromaniac saw this as a prime opportunity to test her skills.

"Hmm I wonder where all this leads too." She thought as she followed a tube along the corridor. She noticed that all the pipes and tubes were linked down the one corridor and that each corridor had its own system of pipes and tubes which supplied the gas. Nanashi smirked as an idea formed. "This is going to be fun!"

Nanashi turned off one of the lamps at the end of the hall then pulled out its gas tube. "I hope this works." She prayed as she flicked open the lighter and placed the open flame near the tube. "Shit!" she cursed as she burnt her fingers slightly dropping the lighter and gas tube as she did so, the pyromaniac noticed the flames travel through the pipes filling the corridor with flames.

"Pretty!" She mused before turning her back as the flames came to a large gas tank and exploded. "Now that was unexpected." Nanashi heard the screams and shouts of near by soldiers who had heard/felt/seen the explosion. _"I better get out of here."_ Nanashi thought strolling away from the scene.

_Back with Kari. _

I sat reading a book I had found on Folken's desk when I felt a shudder go through the Vione, a few seconds later people began shouting about an explosion and fire down one of the halls.

I closed my book and sighed. "Damn that girl." I thought putting the book back and walking off to find my friend. _"I knew this would happen."_ I thought as the halls began to fill with black smoke and soldiers carried on running around with water, all the lights were off so I guessed they had turned off all the gas on the Vione. "I see they have some people with brains on this ship." I happened to say out loud.

"I thought I told you not to leave the room." The cool voice of Folken said behind me. I turned around to see him with the same 'I'm pissed off but I'm not going to show it' face I had seen earlier.

"Yeah well I thought I would go look for Nanashi considering this is most likely her doing." I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. Folken smiled slightly before turning away back towards his room.

"And here I thought Dilandau was a handful." He said intending me to hear.

III

Later that day when they had managed to control the fire I found Nanashi hiding in our room, she insisted she had never left and knew nothing about the explosion but I noticed the burn marks on her fingers.

"Folken still wants to see you. You know your not getting out of it that easy." Nanashi sighed as I bandaged her fingers.

"Yeah whatever." She sighed then looked at me devilishly. "So you were _alone_ with him?" She asked changing her tone. "I bet that was fun, too bad you're still not in your leathers I bet he _loves_ that look." Nanashi soon shut up as I squeezed her burnt fingers.

"What were you saying?" I asked glaring at her.

"Nothing shutting up now." She moaned trying to release her fingers from my grip.

"Good girl." I let go of my friend for her to glare at me.

"I am so getting you back later." She hissed sitting further away from me.

III

_Two days after the gas lamp incident. _

"I am so bored!" Nanashi moaned as she sat in our small 'cell' like room. "Why won't they let us out?"

"Because you blew a hole in a section of the Vione and caused a lot of damage." Nanashi glared at me.

"Thanks for reminding me. I wish I would just get my punishment already, this is killing me being stuck in here." Nanashi flopped back onto her bed.

"Maybe this is your punishment?" I said, the Dragon slayers were allowed to see us when they brought food and water so had managed to steel me a book and Nanashi a pack of cards although after the first day she had gotten fed up with solitaire and creating card pyramids.

"In a way I hope you are right, so almighty bookworm what you reading?" She asked looking up to me.

"The formation of Zaibach, it's really boring all about Dornkirk and what he did to make Zaibach so great."

"Wow you _must_ be bored." We both sighed. "Wanna help me get out of here?" She asked plainly.

"Okay." I shrugged.

The plan was set, when who ever it was came to bring us food, Nanashi and I would jump him. Nanashi would then steel his clothing and do what ever it was she wanted to do as I stayed in the room torturing the poor solider by how ever means I felt like. We would then see how long it took people to notice.

Nanashi and I were lucky for it to be just an ordinary solider, so he was easy enough to jump and tie up.

"Have fun." Nanashi said as she put on the soldiers helmet.

"Oh I will." I said grinning at the poor man sat in his boxers just coming around.

"Damn you're sadistic."

"And your not?" I asked raising my eyebrow, "I'm not going to kill the guy just mentally torture him." I smirked.

"Right then I'll leave you to it." Just before Nanashi left I reminded her to lock the door and not to blow anything up this time. "Spoil-sport." She huffed as she closed the door.

Hours passed and the solider I was mentally torturing had had enough.

"But I haven't finished." I said looking up at the poor man in tears. "This happens to be your great countries history, now where was I?" I looked at the book I was reading. "Damn I lost the page I better start from the beginning." The solider cried out as I began the book again. (A/N: Being bored to death is mental torture, trust me…and besides what did you think I was going to do?)

Nanashi on the other hand had managed to locate the training rooms within the Vione and had kicked the arses of several soldiers….lucky for her they were training in full armour.

When she had gotten bored of wining the fights she somehow found her way to the Guymelef hold, the Escaflowne had been moved to a more secure hold so Nanashi had no other choice but to 'play' with Dilandau's Melef the Alseides.

"So how do you work this thing?" She pondered as she sat in the large, red Melef. "I know this thing can fly…" Nanashi sat back further into the seat to have it close on her and Liquid metal fill the pilot chamber. "Okay. Right I think I have to pull on this?" Nanashi grabbed the hand controls and twisted it only to have the arm of the Alseides raise and fire it's liquid metal claws into the side of the Vione (Note: she's still inside). "Bugger that wasn't right." Nanashi attempted to withdraw the claws but ripped out half the wall instead. "That can't be good."

By this time people on the Vione had figured something was going on and were making their way towards the hold.

"Okay I'm sure it's this one." Nanashi pulled on some more controls but found out that they controlled the Alseides flamethrower and not its flight mode. "Okay I'm sure it's _not _that one." Nanashi looked around at the destruction she had caused to the Guymelef hold, the wall was missing and looked very unstable; it happened to be an outside wall too, the hold was also now on fire which didn't help the status of the other Guymelef's still sat and strapped in place.

Soldiers ran into the hold and attempted to put out the fires and keep and figure out what had happened some were talking about being attacked whilst others thought it was another bomb.

"YO Ashi-Chan!" Nanashi heard the all too familiar voice of her friend amongst the commotion. "I know you're in the Alseides." I yelled. Nanashi sighed knowing she wouldn't be able to hide; she slowly opened the cock-pit and showed herself.

"Folken's going to kill me isn't he?" She asked sheepishly.

A/N: MWAHAHAHAHA …. Damn they must hate us .


	8. The Trade off

**A/N: WOOT New chapter XD**

**Chapter 8 The trade off.**

"Damn it!" Nanashi yelled pulling at the chains which held her. "Why have they thrown us in here?"

"Because you ripped a hole in the Vione and destroyed half of their Guymelef fleet which all happened to be the new model." I sighed and walked across our now real cell to sit next to my friend.

"Why am I the only one chained to the wall?" Nanashi growled noticing that I have the freedom to move although my hands were still shackled together.

"Because you are more dangerous them me. Setting fires, ripping and blowing holes in walls is seen as a bad thing when travelling on a _flying_ fortress."

"It was an accident. I was trying to get it to fly."

"You can't activate the flight mode while sat down Nanashi-Chan."

"I didn't know that!" She moaned.

"…"

"…"

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts…" Nanashi began.

"There they are all standing in a row…"

III

"Next time you bring 'pets' back with you make sure they are less destructive. Understand Dilandau?"

"Well I didn't know she was _that_ destructive." Dilandau complained fed up with being blamed for Nanashi's doing.

Folken and Dilandau were on their way to meet with Prince Chid of Freid as at the time of Nanashi's clash with the wall they have been travelling through the large Country.

"Because of that girl; the Viones stealth cloaks were completely shot and our position has been revealed. Because of her we now must make and appearance before Freid and request that we remain here however; they may wish for the Escaflowne in return which means this mission has been a failure. And it is all yours and that girls fault."

"Prince Chid we are honoured that you were able to meet with us and allow us to stand before you." Folken and Dilandau bowed. Chid was sat opposite them on the throne of the greeting room, Van, Allen and Hitomi were all stood at the side watching. "We ask that we are allowed to remain in Freid to perform vital repairs to our ship we also request food and water. Zaibach fully understands that we are not currently allies with Freid but we had no warning our ship would receive so much damage."

"May I ask what happened?" Chid wondered how one of Zaibach's fortresses had come to be in such a state.

Dilandau was about to speak but Folken raised his hand to silence him.

"Unfortunately we had some mechanical problems which went unnoticed and escalated. A few minor explosions thankfully no one was seriously injured."

"One bet those 'mechanical problems' were Hikage-san." Van whispered to Allen.

"You have my word that while my men and I are here Freid itself will be under no threat from us."

"Lord Folken with my father away I have to take my Countries best interests in mind and much concern has arose that once these repairs are completed you will take it upon yourself to attack us."

Dilandau frowned, he hated meeting with kings and knew that if Nanashi hadn't damaged the Vione they would be attacking Freid by now in order to obtain 'the key' which was a vital part of Dornkirk's plans.

"Then perhaps we can come to an agreement." Folken answered in his cool monotone voice.

III

"We're leaving!" Nanashi exclaimed as they removed the chains and the shackles.

"So what where are we and where are we going?" I asked politely asked waiting.

"Zaibach traded you two to Freid."

"THEY WHAT!" Nanashi yelled. "WHAT DO THEY THINK WE ARE CATTLE?"

"I believe that they traded us to Van, Shits-hard and the others. I'm guessing it was us, the Escaflowne and Zaibach agreeing not to attack Freid in return for supplies, the right to remain in Freid for repairs and 'the key'."

"The key?"

"Some sort of power source, Dornkirk needs it to make his 'perfect world' or something." I answered with a shrug.

"How do you know all this?" The guard asked me as he walked us to the carriage which waited to take us to the trading point.

"I read a lot, and people shouldn't leave files around. Really Folken should put such important documents in a more secure place." Nanashi laughed as we walked fully understanding that I picked a few locks to obtain the information (and naturally knew from watching the Anime).

_At the trading point. _

Nanashi and I stood beside a few guards with Van, Hitomi, Shits-hard, Millerna Chid and a few guards stood opposite us.

"So that's the key?" Nanashi asked asking about the unusual shaped sword Prince Chid held. I nodded as Folken stepped forward to retrieve the sword. I turned around to see the Escaflowne being loaded onto Allen's ship the crusade.

"As in agreement the two young ladies…" The guard pushed us forward.

"Yo!" Nanashi said waving at Van just to annoy him.

"Hey Prince Chid, there wasn't any need to do this for us." I said.

"Yeah we were fine on the Vione." Nanashi answered back as the ropes around our wrists were untied by soldiers from Freid.

"Actually trading you to us was part of Zaibach's terms. Looks like they wanted to get rid of you. Well when I mean 'you' I mean Hikage-san although Allen said that if they insisted of giving us Hikage-san back that had to give Alkia-san back too."

"Wow don't I feel loved." I sighed holding Nanashi back from tearing the King apart for insulting her.

"I can't believe they wanted to get rid of me." Nanashi whinged as we walked to the Crusade.

"I can, you did create all that damage."

"So those 'mechanical problems' were you." Van remarked. Nanashi growled and attempted to attack the king only to have Allen stand in the way.

"GOD DAMN IT!" I suddenly yelled while rummaging through Nanashi's backpack.

"What's wrong Kari-Chan?"

"Someone stole my Folken Plush…AGAIN!"

_On the Vione..._

"So Miguel tell me. How does this Voodoo thing work again?" Dilandau asked with a smirk holding the poor Folken Plushie in his hands. "MWHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

A/N: My poor Folken Plushie TT


	9. Challenge for Freedom

**A/N: Whoa sorry for a late update I've been busy with exams and other fics but now it's the holidays I can write a lot more. So I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 9 Challenge for Freedom.**

"So we are staying in Freid for a little while?" After a short trip to the capital of Freid, Nanashi and I were told we would be staying a short while. The Duke of Freid was away as we had heard at the trade off so the large country was being run by his five year old son Chid and his advisor Voris.

"That's right the princess has been invited to stay which includes Lord Van, the Boss and all accompanying them." Gaddess and the crew were glad to hear that they got to stay in Freid with everyone else it meant less work to do and time to drink.

"Isn't Prince Chid the Princesses nephew?" I asked knowing full well that he was.

"Yeah, the Duke was married to Millerna's older sister Marlene. She died when the kid was two though."

"Hey Kari-Chan." Nanashi whispered. "You know all of this already don't you?" I nodded plainly.

III

That evening the Duke returned home, he wasn't too pleased to hear that the treasure of Freid had been given away to Zaibach but when Chid and everyone explained he agreed it was the best way to go in that situation.

"So these two young ladies are from the Mystic Moon also?" The Duke was surprised to hear our story, but he seemed very suspicious.

"Sorry to interrupt like this Duke Freid but there is a visitor." A solider walked into the room followed by a tall dark haired man wearing a pair of shaded glassed.

"Dryden!" Millerna recognised the man instantly. Dryden Fassa was a well known merchant on Gaea and engaged to Millerna through and arranged marriage we had heard about him before but this was our first time meeting him.

"So that's Millerna's fiancé? Cool glasses." Nanashi and I were sat either side of Millerna at the large dinner table as a place was set for the young merchant.

"So glad you could join us Dryden." The Duke who was sat at the head of the table stood to welcome his late guest. "We were just talking about the young ladies that have appeared from the Mystic moon. It's hard to believe that three have appeared like this it must be either a blessing or a curse." Dryden and the duke laughed.

"Hey Kari-Chan?" Nanashi lent backwards on her chair so we could talk. "What's so funny?"

"The people of Freid are very religious. He must be referring to the link of the people of the mystic moon being cursed along with the Draconians." I answered also leaning back in my chair.

"Right didn't understand a word of that."

"Duke Freid." Van began to speak. "It is still uncertain that Nanashi-san and Kari-san are from the mystic moon.

"Oh come on!" Nanashi suddenly yelled. "We told you we were from Earth, even named a few countries that Hitomi was able to back up for you. Why wont you believe us!"

"That fact that you Nanashi-san was able to fight Allen on a level basis and pilot a Guymelef as well as Kari-san's vast knowledge of Gaea, its people and traditions are all things which make you suspicious."

"Oh and the fact that Hitomi has ACCURATE visions doesn't worry you? I mean she's been predicting EVERY bad thing that's been happening and you don't find that strange? Yet we come along with skills and we are suddenly suspected as spies!" Nanashi shouted standing up. I slowly raised my hand and instructed Nanashi to sit and clam down.

"Nanashi-Chan knows how to fight because we do have such training on Earth; she knows how to pilot a Melef because it's not that hard once you look at it and all I've done since arriving here is read which is how I have learnt about Gaea. Books are very useful Lord Van perhaps you should try reading one if your oh so limited attention span can cope." Everyone in the room was speechless at my outburst and stared at me as a casually sipped my drink.

Van clenched his fist. "Are you trying to mock me?"

"No I am trying to make you look like an idiot, although it's not that hard as you do a pretty good job of it yourself." Nanashi tried to hold back the laugher as Van slammed his hands down on the table.

"That's it! I challenge you to a duel!" Van yelled at me one hand on the hilt of his sword. "I have had enough of you and your friend humiliating me and Allen, thinking you can get away with things. Acting like you actions have no effect on others. Fight me Kari-san if I win you and Nanashi-san are treated like spies for Zaibach."

"And if I win?" I asked calmly standing.

"We get complete freedom!" Nanashi yelled out.

"Well?" I asked. "If I win Nanashi and I get complete freedom to go where we like, when we like and generally do what ever we please."

Van growled. "Fine!"

"Then I will need to borrow a sword." I walked up to a near by solider and took his sword feeling the weight of it.

"That might be a little heavy for you miss."

"This will do just fine; it's quite light compared to my boken." I walked out into the space where Van was also stood.

"Kari will win." Nanashi was stood up watching beside the table. "She is number two in our class and number one in kendo class."

Van heard Nanashi's words. "Kendo is different to the sword, Kari-san. When fighting with the sword you have to want to kill your opponent." Van charged towards me although I saw through his movement and dodged.

"I know and that is my biggest flaw. The reason I'm only number two." Van tried again but I dodged with as much ease. "But although you need the will to kill your opponent you also need a clear head, one void of anger and emotion. Something you don't have." I suddenly changed my tactics and went on the offensive drawing down Van's sword getting in close, in a flash it was over my sword was beside his neck. I had won.

"YES!!" Nanashi yelled. "YAY FOR KARI!" Nanashi jumped up and down as I with drew my sword. Van was extremely angry and annoyed that he had lost as I had my back turned he raised his sword again.

"VAN STOP IT!" Hitomi yelled. I saw him in the reflection of the wall length windows and moved just in time to avoid his attack, his sword only cutting some strands of my hair. I stood completely still as the red strands fell onto the marbled floor.

"Shit! He is so dead!" Nanashi backed up away from me as she had been walking up to congratulate me.

"Nanashi-san, what do you mean?" Hitomi asked.

"Well Kari may be second in our sword class but she had beaten me once. I pulled the same stunt I did on Shits-hard on her about a year ago, chopped off the end of her hair. It _was_ floor length even in a high pony tail, now it just reaches the floor down. She did pay for all my hospital bills though!" Nanashi laughed nervously as she saw all the shocked expressions.

"Do you know what I hate most in the entire world Lord Van? Cowards and liars. I _never_ lie, even if it would hurt someone because there is no point in it all. Nanashi and I have told you over and over that we are who we say we are. Sure we've gone to Zaibach but hey they seem to trust us more than you guys. They haven't called us spies for the alliance even after Nanashi blew a hole in their ship. As soon as you laid eyes on us you called us spies, hardly had any idea who we were. You Lord Van are the worst kind of human the kind I hate more than cowards and liars. Your head is stuck far too up your own arse to notice things I don't even know why your brother cares. Attacking you now would be a waste and I think it would hurt more if I didn't. I won this battle. You are to leave Nanashi and I alone if you fail to do this your rank as a King will not even cross my mind." Everyone stood or sat silently as I made my way out of the room, they then turned to see Van just stood staring down at his own sword thinking about my words.

**A/N: I just had to be evil to Van… I dislike him strongly.**


	10. Secret

**A/N: ****WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! YAY for update Sorry for the lateness **

**Chapter 10 Secret. **

"Van please wait! Where do you plan on going?" Hitomi followed Van down to where Fried was keeping the Escaflowne.

"I'm going back to Fanelia! I'm going to fight Zaibach and avenge my people." Van snapped back opening the hatch to Escaflowne.

"You won't come back Lord Van." Van glared down at me as I entered the room. "Didn't I just tell you that a head filled with anger and emotion will get you killed? What would your people think if you did? Not only would they be homeless they would be without a King too, you are their future Van. If you die in this war Fanelia dies as well." Van thought about my words, but he couldn't stay here with Nanashi and myself when he couldn't trust us. I stood back as he left with Hitomi and Merle then left the small chamber to tell the others that he had gone and would need saving… It was obvious Dilandau would try and attack him.

III

"Lord Dilandau!" Miguel called the young pyromaniac over the built in communicators in their Melef's. "The Escaflowne has made a move. Shall we proceed?" Dilandau sighed in aggravation.

"We can't do anything till he leaves Freid. Although the agreement was that we couldn't attack Fried Right? Technically we would be attacking Fanelia." Dilandau thought.

"Lord Dilandau it seems the route he is taking is all forest." Another dragon slayer posted at a different spot noticed.

"Perfect." Dilandau mused. "Proceed as we planed." All the dragon slayers activated their stealth cloaks and moved forward so they would trap Van and have him completely surrounded.

III

"Van maybe you should have stayed with the others. I know Nanashi-San bothers you but she has helped us. Kari-San said that if Nanashi-San hadn't taken the Escaflowne at Allen's then Zaibach would have attacked and destroyed everything. I believe that Van, I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen back then. Then here with Freid; Zaibach were going to attack. Anyone can see they were, if Nanashi-san hadn't given away their position like she did things could have turned out much worse then they did. Please Van turn around and apologise to the both of them." Van was silent as Hitomi stood up for us.

"Hitomi, Merle, can you feel that? Something's not right. It's too quiet." Van looked around the dense forest carefully. "Hitomi, Merle, I'm going to put you down. I think we're being watched."

"Is it Zaibach?" Merle asked as she jumped down from the Escaflowne's knee.

"Most likely." Van said through gritted teeth, he knew they wouldn't keep to the agreement.

Suddenly a spear of metal came crashing through the trees; its owner was hidden by the trade mark stealth cloaks of Zaibach Guymelef's. Van cursed and ran off drawing the attack away from the girls.

III (A/N: Yeah I know lots of skipping of scenes, but its boring to write fight scenes … 'add own interpretation of Van getting his arse kicked by Zaibach here'…)

Van had come across a lake which in turn made the stealth cloaks useless although he was till at a disadvantage as he was out numbered and the Zaibach Melef's were capable of long range attacks where as Van could hardly get in close enough with his sword.

The fight was a pointless one, Van was easily trapped by four Melef's driving their metal claws into the Escaflowne's Arms and legs.

Dilandau stood before Van laughing. "You will pay for what you did to my beautiful face Van! NOW YOU DIE!" Dilandau raised the arm of his Alseides Melef preparing the deadly blow.

"Please someone! Please save Van!" Hitomi prayed as she stood helpless at the lakes edge, Merle too frightened to look turned away embracing Hitomi.

"Please someone Save Lord Van!" She pleaded.

As in answer to their prays the Crusade flew in over head blocking the out the sun and Allen appeared in his Melef taking out one of the Dragon slayers.

"Allen!" Hitomi was relieved to see him.

"Hitomi! Merle!" The two girls turned around as Gaddess, another solider and I came up to them on horses. "Gaddess, you there help them mount. We have to get out of her!" I ordered trying to steady my own horse.

"Kari-San, Gaddess how did you find us!" Hitomi asked as she sat down behind Gaddess.

"Seems like Kari-San here can find those Damn Melef's like you can Hitomi. It was her idea to come after you like this. She knew Van would end up in a fight leaving you two young ladies alone and vulnerable."

"Thank you." Hitomi said looking back to me.

"Watch it!" The other solider warned as one of Dilandau's Liquid metal spears crashed into the near by trees. My horse jolted violently as Gaddess tried to control his own, I held tightly onto the reigns but my horse was rearing too much and threatening to go down itself. As the frightened animal bucked I felt a searing pain in my wrist as I still held on in fear of being thrown off. As the horse reared again I lost my grip and fell hard; the pain in my wrist was replaced by the new pain in by shoulder as I landed.

"Kari-San!" Hitomi yelled out worried for my wellbeing.

"I'm Okay." I answered through gritted teeth I was sure I had dislocated my shoulder.

"KARI!!!" Nanashi who was watching the battle in the Crusade screamed as loud as she could to warn me of the on coming metal spear heading straight for me as a lay on the floor.

I looked up to see the metal spear be blocked by Allen in his Melef. He had seen me get thrown off the horse and had seen the diverted attack.

"Allen!" I sat up, the pain in my shoulder and sprained wrist seemed to vanish as I saw the Scherazade fall down to its knees. Allen had been hit badly. I looked up to see Dilandau and his dragon slayers leave as some ships came into view.

III

"Can't someone do something?" Van yelled at the poor merchants that had picked us up from the lake as Allen lay bleeding on a table.

"I'm sorry but we don't have a doctor on board that can handle deep wounds like that, we are only a merchant's ship that makes small trips between Freid and Asturia. A dislocated shoulder is about as technical as our doctor can manage." Van growled in frustration.

"He will die if we don't get him help soon!" Van continued to yell.

"_He_ will be fine." I calmly said sat at the side of the room massaging my shoulder with my wrist wrapped in a bandage.

"How can you say that? Look at him, the bleeding wont stop!! How can you be so ungrateful? He saved your life and you're just sat there without a care in the world."

"He will be _fine_!" I said again looking up at the young king.

"Even I thought you would be a little concerned Kari-Chan." Nanashi said braving my bad temper.

"Gaddess is that you? And Van, Hitomi I see you are all together; that's wonderful." Millerna the princess of Asturia walked into the crowded room. "What's wrong is someone hurt?" The Blonde princess asked seeing that the doctor of the ship was also in the room, she gasped as she noticed Allen and the bandages wrapped around his waist. "What happened? He's bleeding heavily, why isn't anyone doing anything?" Everyone in the room avoided the princesses' panicked gaze. "Captain?"

"I'm sorry princess Millerna but we don't have any one on board that can handle a deep wound like that…"

I sighed as I stood from my position at the edge of the room, making my presence known to Millerna.

"You fix him." I said with cold eyes.

"But I-I've only studied from books." The mole man handed me the princesses' blue bag which contained all of her medical equipment.

"You help him or else his death will be on your conscience and if that isn't enough, if he dies…you'll be joining him!" I held out the large blue bag for her to take which she did with caution

"Where's Kari-San?" Merle was sat outside the room where Millerna was operating along with Van, Hitomi, Nanashi and a few members of the Crusade.

"She's in her room, she's not feeling well." Nanashi said with a sigh.

"Avoiding us more like." Van scoffed.

"Look _Lord Van…_" Nanashi stood her fists clenched; she could not but up with the young kings' arrogance any longer. "Kari is just as worried as anyone else is, she might not look it but she's blaming herself for this. She's not worrying because she trusts Millerna." Just as Nanashi finished her sentence the princess opened the door, she looked so weary, her hair loose from its bun.

"The operation was a success." She said in an almost whisper before collapsing to her knees from relief and exhaustion.

After explaining to The Duke of Freid and The Prince the Dragon Slayer that the Crusade gang had captured (Allen had destroyed his Melef trapping him in it) was locked away in the dungeon waiting questioning. Allen had woken from his operation but was confined to bed rest (although a futon on the floor doesn't seem suitable somehow). Van was asked respectively not to leave the castle again and everyone else was kept busy trying to go about how to address Zaibach and their breach of contract.

"Nanashi-San!" Millerna called to the teen as she left her room, "Will you do me a favour?" Nanashi looked down to the bowl filled with water, a cloth and the wrapped bandages in her hand. "The Prisoner is being questioned and they need me there; but Allen needs his bandages changing. Will you do it for me?" Nanashi raised an eyebrow to Millerna's Requests.

"I'm sorry Princess but I'm busy and I'm terrible at those types of things. I'm sure Kari-Chan will do it, she's good at bandages." Nanashi noted the small frown appear on the Princesses face.

I sighed as I reached the blind like door leading to Allen's room. I had been avoiding him all week as I just didn't know how to say 'Thank you for saving my life you arse; now I feel like I owe you something big in return'. I sighed again as I pulled the string that controlled the stupid blind-door walking into the room letting the door fall back into place. Allen was sat up; looking out the open window which was a good sign considering the severity of his wound. I stood in silence until he turned round slightly thinking I was Millerna.

"Kari-san?"

"Millerna was needed else where, she asked me if I could change your bandages for you." He nodded, stating it was alright for me to proceed.

I sat down in front of him, placing the bowl to the side as he carefully slipped the top half of his robe off his shoulders revealing the old bandages.

As I began to take the old bandages off and see to the wound I began to hum an old song that came into my head (more specifically 'Pan's labyrinth's lullaby').

"That's such a sad melody." Allen said quietly; pulling me out of my daze. "It sounds like something played at a funeral."

"I'm sorry." Allen just smiled as I carried on fixing his bandages. "They're not too tight are they? The bandages I mean?"

"They're fine, thank you Kari-San." I felt a blush run to my cheeks as his gaze fell on me whilst I straightened out the bandages out making sure they were perfect. I slightly cursed Nanashi for suggesting I do this and planed to get her back for it later.

"Kari-San?" The blonde Knight took hold of my hand which was still tending to the bandages; I lowered my head so he wouldn't see the growing redness of my cheeks only to have him tilt my head up with his other hand. "I'm sorry." I was genuinely shocked to hear him apologise for nothing.

"No it-it should be me who's apologising." I said pulling my hand free of his grip, holding my hands up in admittance.

"But I made you worry." He answered leaning forward and giving me a small kiss on the cheek. "I hope you can forgive me?" Just as I felt my cheeks reach there full redness the blind-door was pulled open, the Duke of Freid stood several guards beside of him walking into the room.

"Kari-San Please come with us." One of the guards asked as I stood.

"What is this about?" Allen asked pulling the top of his robe back on, wincing slightly at the pain in his side.

"The Prisoner was questioned and revealed that the young lady here was working for Zaibach along with her female friend. I was told that this wasn't the first time the two were accused of such things." The Duke said, Allen tried to stand in protest but I told him it was not necessary and that I would go with the guards to the dungeons quietly.

When I arrived Nanashi was already sat down locked up. She was not happy to hear that Miguel had told them that we were traitors.

"And to believe I was going to help him get out of here." Nanashi scoffed.

"You still might need to; I think Zaibach will have him killed off in fear of him talking of their secrets." I said keeping an eye on the guard watching us.

"Allen you shouldn't be walking around, your wound is still bad!" Millerna's voice echoed down the hall as the Blond knight assisted by the complaining princess and Gaddess staggered down to our cell.

The two helped him sit on a bench opposite our cell.

"They want to interview you." He said talking more to me then Nanashi.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"His name is Plaktu; he uses a type of hypnotism to find out the truth. He could ask you anything."

"I have nothing to hide." I said as a guard opened the cell to let me out, as he took hold of my elbow to direct me I noticed Chide stood to the side.

"I am very sorry about all this Prince Chid." I bowed respectively. "You know…You and Sir Allen look very similar; you could almost be brothers or perhaps…" I paused. "…His doppelganger." The guard led me away to the room where Plaktu was waiting.

"Okay that was weird." Nanashi noted my odd behaviour thinking carefully on what I had said.

_(In the weird room thing)_

"What is your name girl?" The man known as Plaktu had hypnotised me and had begun asking a few questions to prove that I was indeed under his spell.

"Kari, Kari Alkia." I answered in a monotone voice, my eyes blankly looking forward.

"And where are you from?"

"Earth."

"Earth?" He questioned.

"Yes, the Mystic moon." Those watching gasped.

"She can't be working as a spy for Zaibach if she's from that damned place." The Duke Commented.

"But no one can lie under Plaktu My lord." Voris interrupted. Van looked to Hitomi who was also watching.

"So she's from the same world as Hitomi…but can we trust her just on that" He thought to himself.

"Are you working for Zaibach little girl?" He asked…I remained silent. "Well answer me? Are you working for them?" He asked again shaking some beads, I remained silent.

"Why isn't she answering Plaktu? What is the meaning of this?" The Duke became angry with the little process they were making.

"Perhaps I am asking the wrong type of question… Are you working under orders to _help_ Zaibach?"

"No!" I stated clearly. Plaktu growled he was becoming annoyed.

"Do you work for someone within Zaibach?" …Silence… "Answer me!" Plaktu grabbed me by the shoulders in an attempt to 'shake' an answer from me.

_(Back in the cells.) _

"Hey Shits-hard?" Nanashi had been thinking about what I had said as I left. "Do you have real doppelgangers here on Gaea?"

"In a way, although not many exist now. Why is it you ask? Is it something to do with Kari-San?"

"What she said is bugging me; she must have said it for a reason." Nanashi's eyes widened as it came to her. "He's a doppelganger!"

"Who?" Allen asked.

"The Plaktu guy! He's a doppelganger…It was so obvious." Nanashi stood quickly "Kari's in trouble!"

_(Back with everyone else.) _

"What happened? Plaktu!!" Everyone stood as Plaktu froze after shaking me.

"_So you're the annoying doppelganger that invaded my personal space…" Plaktu was stood in complete darkness a voice seemingly coming out of nowhere. _

"_Where am I?" He asked panicking._

"_Why you're inside __my __Room." Plaktu turned around to see a person much like myself but dressed in black, their hair much shorter than my own floor length hair stood in front of him. "Hello!"_

"_How?? What is going on? How is this possible??"_

"_Split Personality!" The girl chirped. "You hypnotised Kari-Sama leaving me to do as I please, although you seem to have messed things up a bit. Looks like your consciousness ended up here with me as I tried to take control. To bad this is __my __domain and I don't like trespassers." My other self grinned wickedly as the darkness began to surround the doppelganger trapping his legs and pulling him down into nothing. _

"_NO!! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!!" He screamed as my other self walked away, in a vain hope to save his self he grabbed my other self's ankle. "IF I DIE I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!!!" He screamed once again pulling the red head with him._

_(With Nanashi) _

"What was that?" Nanashi and Allen were distracted as a loud scream echoed through the halls and soldiers began to run in the direction of the room in which I was being questioned.

"What's happened?" Allen asked managing to stop a passing solider.

"The red head stopped breathing!" The man said before running off again.

"Kari!" Nanashi gasped shaking her head. Allen stood slowly, Gaddess helping him. "And where do you think you're going?" Nanashi demanded her hands holding onto the bars.

"To Kari-San."

"Wait…Don't leave me here!" Nanashi called out as he walked off.

Nanashi had been alone two seconds after she decided to try and pick the lock open on her cell, as she fiddled around the old lock with a hair pin Miguel walked past.

"Mi-Chan? How come you're not in a cell?"

"Nanashi-San? I-I managed to get out… Why are _you_ locked up?" He wondered crouching down.

"That would be your fault!" Nanashi snapped as she dropped the hair pin.

"Do you want some help?" He asked.

"I can do it." Nanashi moaned searching for the hair pin she had dropped. Miguel picked up the hair pin and began to pick the lock.

"I heard Kari-San was in trouble. If I get you out of this cell, will you tell me the way to get out of here?" He stopped picking the lock a moment. Nanashi nodded agreeing to the deal.

After freeing Nanashi from her cell, she thanked him and told him the way out of the castle, just before he ran off he turned to address her.

"Oh and Nanashi-san you still owe me for ruining a pair of my shoes…and for that Mi-Chan remark." With that Miguel was gone.

Nanashi ran as fast as she could towards the room where I was being held to find me laid on the floor my eyes wide open, shirt open as Millerna performed CPR.

Nanashi spotted the 'doppelganger' stood in the corner, surrounded by guards muttering something about Kari being a 'two faced demon'.

"A 'Two faced Demon'!" Nanashi knew immediately what he meant. "Out of the way!" She ordered pushing Millerna away. "Her heart is beating, it's slow but then again no one is in control at the moment, we just need to wake someone up!" Everyone looked confused. Nanashi clenched her fist drew back her arm then punched my lifeless face hard on the cheek.

"NANASHI-SAN!!" Millerna screamed, completely shocked at her actions.

"Hmmm I guess that didn't work, I guess I will have to hit her a little harder." As Nanashi drew back her arm again Allen grabbed hold of it.

"Surly there is another way…to…'Wake her up' as you but it."

"Sure there is but I cannot be sure who we will get. It will be your head on the platter." Allen frowned.

"'My head', 'who we will get'… I don't understand?" Nanashi grinned.

"Kiss her! It's bound to wake her up, well when I mean her I mean the other her…although you better hurry, I don't think she's getting much air at the moment."

Allen looked baffled as well as everyone else stood in the room. Although when Nanashi stood with here hands on her hips as to say 'what are you waiting for' he thought that she must be serious.

As soon as Allen's lips touched my own everyone saw the blankness in my eyes disappear and I shot up almost head-butting him. Nanashi knelt down to ask me if

I was alright although she got for an answer was a bust lip.

"Kari-San!" Millerna stepped forward, only to holt as I glared at her. I stood slowly, doing up the buttons of my shirt.

I heard the constant mutter of 'Plaktu' and turned my gaze on him, as if drawn by a string he looked up and met my gaze.

"It-It's her!" He screamed "The Evil one…Please don't kill me!" He screamed again. In a blink of an eye I held a soldier's sword in my hand pointing it at the pleading mans neck.

"So fast…" Van mumbled in awe.

"Damn it!" Nanashi cursed. "I knew it would be _her_."

"Show your true from, Doppelganger." I ordered coldly, dark eyes burning. Slowly he obeyed.

The Doppelganger was taken away as I handed back the sword I had taken.

"Kari-San…" Allen walked to me placing a hand on my shoulder. "…Are you alright." I cocked my head to the side to face him, dark eyes still cold like steal.

"Get your hand off me!" I ordered again.

"Hi-Chan!" Nanashi scolded.

"'_Hi-Chan'?_" Hitomi clung to Vans arm much like merle as she too questioned what was happening.

"Short for Hikari." Nanashi answered. (Note: Hi-Chan is pronounced like the 'Hi' in Hikari and not Hi as in hello) "Anyway, Hikari? What happened to Kari? She okay?" Nanashi asked plainly like she was used to this situation.

"I don't know, that Doppelganger did something I thi-" Hikari was cut off as Gaddess hit her on the back of her head with the hilt of his sword.

"What the fucking hell are you doing?" Nanashi almost yelled as Hikari collapsed

"Well from the looks of things you hit her over the head to get her to change right?" Gaddess answered innocently.

"You knocked her out!" Nanashi exclaimed.

III

"You awake then…" Nanashi walked into the room that they had placed me in too see me stood on the balcony.

"Yeah and not only do I have a bump on my head where that bastard hit me but one from you too." Nanashi took a step back as she noticed the tone of my voice.

"So I guess it wasn't all that simple then."

"Well as I was saying before that fucked up pea brained pissant hit me was that; that doppelganger did something to Kari."

"So I guess we're stuck with you?" Nanashi asked with a grin.

"For now…but don't tell the others. I feel like having a little fun and that is so much easier when they think I'm Kari." Hikari smiled maliciously as Nanashi laughed at the prospects. "It's a secret!" Hikari whispered placing a finger across her lips like one does.

**A/N: sorry for any mistakes… couldn't be bothered to re-check it…. Too long TT.**


	11. Paranoia

**A/N:**** YAY for update it's the summer holidays so this is the only reason this chapter got finished XD but be amazed 8 pages and 4000 words later we have Chapter 11 'Paranoia' MWHAHAHAHAHAHA …Enjoy. Oh and by the way in this chapter its all 'Hikari'.**

**Chapter 11 Paranoia. **

"WHAT THE HELL! ZAIBACH! ZAIBACH IS ATTACKING!!!" Screams flooded the castle as people fled to safety. Zaibach was attacking the main castle they had had no warning as Zaibach were going against the treaty they had made only days ago.

"KARI!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!" Nanashi ran through the burning castle trying her best to avoid the fire and falling stone.

"Nanashi-San!" Gaddess grabbed the teen by the arm and dragged her down the corridor towards the awaiting crusade.

"Where's Kari, I couldn't find her in the castle!" Nanashi had to be forced onto the crusade by Kio (he picked her up and carried her).

"The boss is looking for her in the Scherazade." Gaddess answered.

"WHAT! BUT THAT'S NOT SAFE, PEOPLE WILL TARGET HIM, SHE MIGHT GET INJURED. IF SHE IS INJURED IN ANY WAY I WILL MAIM HIM UNTIL HE CAN NO LONGER MOVE OR BREATH, WHICH OTHER COMES FIRST."

"Gaddess, we have Kari-San on board, take flight." One of the crusade members popped his head in to pass on the information.

Nanashi walked as fast as she could through the corridors of the crusade till she came to the room normally given to the two girls.

"Kari! OH MY GOD! YOU'RE INJURED!" Nanashi walked in to find me tending to a small wound on my forehead above my eye.

"I'm fine, just a small injury, it was all my fault I couldn't see where I was going because of the smoke. I tripped; you know how clumsy I am."

"If that scars Kari will be pissed off at you."

"Meh. She would have tripped too. If I didn't react so damn fast I could have fallen down a flight of stairs." I answered back. "I just hit my head is all."

Nanashi raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, Kari most likely _would_ have fallen down the stairs and probably broken something. So I guess it was better that it was you and not her."

"How are things?" I asked suddenly becoming serious.

"Bad." Nanashi answered.

We walked down to the cockpit to view the scene below, of the city on fire. Van was out fighting the Zaibach soldiers that had covered the landscape.

"This is horrible! This was not supposed to happen! Why are they attacking? They shouldn't be attacking, they have what they want. Why are they doing this?" Nanashi noted the stress in my voice, things should _not_ have happened this way. We had made sure that Zaibach received the 'key' through none violent terms, to avoid the war.

III

"Are you feeling okay?" Nanashi asked as 'I' sat against the wall of our room.

"No! I hate this damn ship." I sighed as I placed a cold compress to my forehead.

"I can't believe you get sick on this thing. But I guess that's a good thing. It would seem odd if you didn't get ill as well Hikari-san." Nanashi pondered the thought.

"Kari-Chan, Millerna had some medicine which might make you feel better." The blonde no so long haired Knight wondered into our room placing the small bottle on the side. "I hope you feel better soon."

Because of the war the growing group on the Crusade fled Freid and headed for Palas. The Duke had been killed protecting his country and Chid had been proclaimed the new Duke of Freid, after the Duke had died Zaibach withdrew. The doppelganger who had been held in the prison managed to get away in the confusion but mysteriously disappeared (although Nanashi had some hand in it…he was later found decapitated) we were currently travelling.

"Nanashi-San please behave whilst travelling on my ship." Nanashi stuck her tongue out at the knight as he left to join Van and the others in the cockpit.

"What's with the Kari-Chan? What you two been up too? Damn he's annoying. You should really think about deflating that ego of his." Nanashi moaned.

"Right now all I'm thinking about is getting off this stupid flying contraption."

After being sick a few more times Nanashi left me to rest. The Pyromaniac walked around the surprisingly large ship for what seemed like forever, on her journey she managed to locate the other sleeping quarters of the Crusade members, the store room, Guymelef hold (although she decided not to play with the Melef's at this point), Allens room …which she ransacked and then finally the engine room.

"Cool I wonder what this does?" Nanashi played around with a few leavers and buttons very interested in everything and working out what they did, it was amazing no one noticed her. She came across one leaver that didn't seem to do anything so she kept flipping it until it broke off in her hand. "I don't think it was supposed to do that." Nanashi quickly hid the leaver and left strolling along down the hall towards the others.

"Yo!" Just as the black haired teen walked into the room there came a large explosion and smoke began to fill the hall. Everyone instinctively stared at Nanashi. "It wasn't me!" she stated in her defence.

"Can you go five minutes without destroying something?" Van asked annoyed with her.

"Can you go five minutes without being a total arse?" Nanashi retorted. "I told you it wasn't me."

"Hey who's been messing around in the engine room?" Gaddess walked into the room, the broken leaver in his hand. Again everyone turned to look at Nanashi who laughed nervously.

"Please remain in your room for the continuation of this journey." Gaddess had walked Nanashi back to our room as I still sat on the floor.

"What happened? I heard a bang"

"I damaged something." My destructive friend sat down beside me as we heard the lock click. "Like that's going to stop me…"

"Nanashi!" I scolded.

"It was an accident I swear…and besides I thought you liked destruction?"

"I do but I have to act like Kari-Sama, she would have scolded you."

III

"You don't look so good?"

When arriving in Palas there was no where to land so we had to find a spot outside of the capital and ride in a carriage to the city.

Nanashi was sat opposite me with Millerna and Dryden to her left, on my right sat Allen and Gaddess (Van and Hitomi were in another carriage.)

"You're very pale Kari; perhaps this is more than travel sickness." Allen stated placing a hand on my back like it was supposed to comfort me or something.

"What the hell was in the medicine?" I managed to ask before placing a hand over my mouth feeling a wave of sickness.

"It's all natural remedies; the main ingredient is this…" Millerna had her blue bag on her lap which she opened; she moved some things around until she found what she was looking for.

"Is that a Coconut?" Nanashi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Is that what you call it on your world?" Dryden asked taking the 'coconut' from Millerna.

"Here it's called a kelapa found on a kelpa tree and it's used in several medicines."

Nanashi suddenly burst out in laughter. "Well done Princess, you have officially poisoned Kari!"

"Poisoned her!" Millerna exclaimed.

"Yeah that stuff makes her violently sick, the more she has the worse she gets, if she eats it raw then her windpipe swells and she can't breathe. You should have seen her when it happened once, she turned blue." With that last comment I kicked Nanashi in the shin.

"Kari-San I am so Sorry, I had no idea!" Millerna repeated over and over again I became so annoyed that I had to tell her that it was alright, that the sickness would pass but as I was about to the Carriage jerked as there was a ditch in the road, I couldn't hold back the need to throw up so did so in the nearest persons lap…which just happened to be Allens.

We stopped the carriages to allow Allen to change and to clean up the mess. I was crouched at the side of the road with Nanashi still being sick.

"That bitch is _so_ going to pay." I said as Nanashi passed me some water.

"Can I help with that? I have a plan" Nanashi ginned devilishly.

"What kind of plan?" I asked.

"Psychological warfare and throwing a mixture of egg, flour and milk at her is always fun and I've so wanted to do that."

I tied to laugh at Nanashi's plan but felt another wave of sickness come over me.

"Damn her! She is going to suffer and it starts now."

"How?" Nanashi asked puzzled.

"By getting at the one thing she cares about."

Nanashi thought about it for a moment before it came to her. "Shits-hard? Cool this shall be fun. Shall I prepare her a room at a mental ward or will you? Jealous paranoia I presume? Good way to go, although will you be able to handle it? I mean you will have to get close to him, making it believable."

"Watching her self-destruct will be worth it."

When Allen emerged from the other carriage dressed in his casual wear (you all know it, the slightly open shirt, black trousers and stupid pinkish belt thing) Gaddess made arrangements for me to be taken to the palace on horse back, naturally Allen offered to be the one to take me and I was in no mood to refuse it. The carriages set off just as we did although Nanashi did manage to spot Millerna frowning at the sight of me sat side-saddle; her beloved knight behind me taking the reigns his right arm supporting my back as I leaned against him…Nanashi knew that this was the bringing of Princess Millerna's mental break down

III

That night Nanashi attended dinner alone as I was sleeping in a room they had given me. Unlike the last time we were in Palas where we shared a room, Nanashi and I were given separate rooms with a door between them which we could open and close much like a room divide.

"I am so sorry to hear for your friend Hikage-san. I hope she gets well soon, Dryden tells me she knows quite a lot on Zaibach and their plans." The King of Palas was sat at his usual position at the head of the table.

"Kari-san was sleeping when I came down, she should be well in the morning." Nanashi answered in her most polite voice.

"That girl is unusual though, I heard about what happened in Freid. This 'Hikari' seems quite dangerous; can we trust that she will not appear again?"

Suddenly Nanashi choked on her wine, she had a coughing fit after as her lungs rejected the liquid. When everyone realized Nanashi was going to be fine they carried on their conversation.

"Tell me Nanashi-san, do you trust this 'Hikari-San'?" Dryden's father (Meiden) asked.

Nanashi took a deep breath in still trying to get her breathing back to normal. "Well I trust her to a degree. In the end she does what's best."

"Best for whom? Herself or others?" Dryden's father questioned.

"For the situation." With that last remark the King and Meiden leaned in to talk in whispers.

"Well _Allen_ seems to trust her." Millerna commented. "Although she's too calm for me. It's creepy; like she knows everything so has no need to worry or bother with things." Millerna turned to glare at Nanashi.

"Would you rather she be loud and brash like Nanashi-San." Dryden chuckled.

"Hey who you calling brash!" she complained. "Any way Princess, I heard you still haven't accepted Sir Dryden's' hand in marriage. Is there any reason?"

"Well I…I don't know." Millerna blushed stuttering over a number of reasons.

III

"Hey I see you're up." Nanashi walked into the dimly lit room where I was stood on the balcony. "How you feeling?"

"I feel like the contents of my stomach are non-existent and my throat burns, so I'm fine really."

"I really miss the conversations I have with you Hikari." Nanashi answered back sarcastically. "So what we doing?"

"Going to Atlantis."

"Okay, why?"

"Because things have changed. Van was supposed to get injured, be healed and go on a killing spree, remember."

"Yeah he killed all the Dragon slayers and their ghosts stopped him from killing Dilly-Sama. How could I forget?" Nanashi answered leaning on the railing of the balcony

"Well that didn't happen, Dilandau still has his mental health and we have no need to go to Atlantis."

"So why do we have to go to Atlantis?" By this time Nanashi was slightly confused.

"Because Hitomi needs to figure out the power of Atlantis and how she fits in to the equation."

"But I thought you already knew that and were going to tell everyone one."

"Well I do." I answered blankly

"And you know Zaibach's plan?"

"Yes."

"And how they plan to go about it?"

"Kind of." Nanashi sighed.

"So why don't we just try and figure that out…skip the whole Atlantis thing besides it would only make you travel sick."

"Good point." I answered standing up straight (as I was leaning against the stone rail too).

"Where you going?"

I shrugged, "Library."

III

I stayed in the large palace Library all night researching information on Zaibach and Atlantis noting down the things I already knew.

I yawned looking over at the clock on the wall, it was morning and I had been researching all night. I had been sat at the large table but migrated to the floor where I could easily get too all the books I had taken from the shelves, my hair was tied up then pinned and clipped to keep it out of my way (I hated how Kari insisted on having long hair) although there were several stands and clumps out of place where I had ran my hand through my hair. I looked like some sort mad scientist sat in the Library surrounded by leather bound books, messed up hair and reading glasses.

"Yo Hi-Chan you still in here?" Nanashi walked into the large room to find me sat crossed legged on the floor slumped over slightly. "You asleep?" The young teen poked me in the arm with a pencil to receive no response. "Take that as a yes then."

Nanashi shrugged left the flask she had brought with her beside me and left me to sleep…sat upright.

"_Useless cause is breaking your back_

_Your life will end when you attack."_

Millerna walked down the hall when she heard singing coming towards her as she turned the corned she saw it was Nanashi singing.

"_Make your move, Make your stance_

_Make the win_

_Heh, like you can."_

Nanashi noticed the princess and sang the next verse louder directing it towards the blonde.

"_See the war_

_See me rule"_

As they crossed paths Nanashi turned, walking backwards facing the princess who had also turned round but stopped.

"_See the mirror_

_You'll see a fool."_

Millerna knew that Nanashi was calling her a fool but had no idea how to respond, she just stood there looking like the fool Nanashi had called her as the black haired teen moon walked around the corner

_[Meanwhile…_

"_You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you."_

Van was walking past the Library when he too heard singing.

_"You let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you."_

The king looked in to see myslef dancing around the large room, placing books back on the shelves and taking more down.

"_Help me I broke apart my insides, help me Ive got no  
Soul to tell  
_

_Help me the only thing that works for me, help me get  
_

_Away from myself"_

"Van is everything alright?" The King of Fanelia turned around speechless pointing into the room as to tell him that was what he was up to. Allen opened the doors to see me dancing around, arms above my head; eyes closed singing the unusual song.

"_I__ want to fuck you like an animal  
_

_I want to feel you from the inside  
_

_I want to fuck you like an animal  
_

_My whole existence is flawed"_

He stood open mouthed, speechless much like Van.

"_Help me tear down my reason, help me its your sex i  
Can smell"_

On that last lyric I spun around opening my eyes and finally noticing the two people stood at the doors.

"Allen!" I blerted out almost falling over a pile of books as I stumbled over to him.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked concerened yet amused by the odd behaviour.

"YES! Fine!"

"What is going on here?" Millerna walked in on hearing the comotion.

"I think something is wrong with Kari." Allen answered holding me by the shoulders, Millerna frowned.

"I'm fine. Youreallyshouldn'tworryaboutme. You'realwaysworryingforme. SomeoneshouldreallyworryforyouImeanyouwereinjured. Ohmygodyouwereinjuredareyoualrightnow? Doesithurtanymore? OhmyIcan'tbelieveIforgotanditwasallmyfault. Diditscar? Itmusthavescared!Youhadanoperation. Iamsosorryyounowhaveascarandit'sallmyfault. Althoughscarscanbesexy…hmmm."

"Woah caffein rush much."

"Nanashi-san"

"NANA-CHAN!!" I yelled moving too quickly for my feet and tripping over myself. Thakfully Allen managed to catch me or else I would have crashed face first onto the floor.

"I think you need to sit down." The Knight half ordered.

"Don't worry about her, she will crash in a moment." Nanashi told him.

"Nanashi-san what is wrong with Kari-san?" Van asked. "It's like she's a little kid or something."

"Sugar and caffein rush, I left her a flask of coffee as I knew she would have been up all night I think it had about sixteen teaspoons of sugar in it."

"See! TherewegoAllenNanashitoldyouyoudon'thavetoworryaboutmeI'mperfectlyfine. AlthoughIdokindoffeeltired." Thankfully Allen managed to catch me again as I passed out.

"See told you she would crash."

III

After I had slept off the coffee and sugar it was night again, I cursed when I realized I had stayed in bed all day and that my body clock would be terrible by now. I fought to get the large French windows to my balcony open but got annoyed and ended up kicking them, I gave up after I broke a pane of glass and decided to venture to the roof for air instead.

I slowly walked up the stone stairs towards the roof which was a favourite spot of mine, there was very rarely anyone there but usually when you wanted to be alone there was, I inwardly kicked myself as this was one of those times.

The young Knight turned round as he heard the soft sound of bare feet up the stairs.

"Kari! How are you feeling? I frowned immediately.

"I think I remember telling you that you can stop worrying for me." I answered walking towards the edge of the terraced roof looking out at the sleeping city.

"You shouldn't be up here without any shoes on, you could catch a cold." He was still worrying.

"It's a warm night." I answered in a nonchalant manner as I sat on the wall. "And I know, I shouldn't be sat on the wall either." Allen laughed.

"I'm sorry." I looked over my shoulder to view the city again, following the knights own eyes.

"What were you doing up here?" I asked breaking the silence.

"I was thinking." He answered after a pause; I gasped.

"You mean you actually think!" I said jokingly. "I didn't know knights of the heavens had to think." He was silent, most out of character. I glanced at him as he kept his gaze on the city lights, sad blue eyes. "You don't have to worry about Chid, Freid will be fine from now on. He's a good kid." I knew he was looking at me with questioning eyes as I looked down at my own feet as I swung them slightly in the manner that one does when they can't reach the floor when sat. "I'm sorry." I half mumbled after there had been silence again. "You got injured and it was my fault, and Chid doubted you. If you had died then loosing his father after would have been too much for the poor boy to handle, you were his hero, the Knight of fairy-tales." Allen moved so he was stood in front of me rather than to my side.

"He would have understood." He answered cocking his head to the side to see my face which I kept down, hidden by hair. "His father died for his country, I would have died for you and I don't regret standing in the way , you have nothing to be sorry for." He went to touch my face but I turned away. I was angry now that he wasn't listening to me; that he was typical Schezar again.

"No!" I snapped. "You don't understand when you say that, when you do things like that it's nothing more than selfish and stupid." I had raised my voice by this time.

"Protecting you is selfish?"

"Yes! Dying that way is the most selfish and stupid thing you can do. You have no idea how it would have effected other people, your death would have been like a ripple in water. My death…who cares? Nanashi, that's who… one person!" Allen held me by my shoulders as I half yelled at him, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall as I sat; a mess of emotions.

"I think I understand now, and I'm sorry." I allowed him to look at me, to brush away the forming tears with a gloved thumb. "You're right. It was selfish of me to protect you, I forgot to think…"

"See, I told you knights don't think." I interrupted, he laughed again; a soft laugh not seeing offence in the comment but noting the significance of it.

"I forgot to think." He continued. "Of your feelings." This caught my attention causing me to snap my eyes back to looking at his cobalt blue ones, I didn't think to hide my surprise of his words. "To know that someone loves you enough to die for you, but to only realize this when they do. The feeling would eat you up inside." The blonde knight placed his hands either side of me on the wall and lowered his face towards mine closing the gap between us, he didn't stop until his lips were touching my own.

Unbeknownst to the Knight but completely known to me, Millerna was stood behind one of the many pillars viewing the whole thing, she had been stood their awhile listening to us talk. She held back the urge to cry out as she saw Allen deepen the kiss between us. I had edged closer to the edge of the wall so he didn't have to lean over to much, his hands moved from their position beside me on the wall to around my waist. I opened my eyes as I moved my own arms resting them on his shoulders, crossing around his neck, I looked straight at the Princess who was almost stood completely way from her hiding place, she was biting her lip but she couldn't hide the gasp of seeing my eyes looking coldly towards her, she couldn't fight back the tears anymore.

We both heard her, Allen broke the kiss but still held me as he too looked towards the young Princess.

"Millerna!" I heard him say, too quiet for her but she knew he had said her name.

"I'm sorry!" She blurted out before running off down the stairs crying. The Knight Caeli looked back at me asking what to do, I told him to go after her.

When he had gone I sighed and stretched my arms, jumping off the wall. My attention was diverted to the slow clapping coming from the door way, it was Nanashi.

"I think that deserves an Oscar." She said before coming to stand with me. I only smiled. "You cold hearted bitch." She said as we both leaned on the wall where moments before I was sat with Allen.

"Why thank you." I answered back with a grin.

"She was crying." Nanashi responded. "_Real_ tears, heart broken she is." Nanashi and I laughed loudly. "So when do we start with the 'paranoia'?" The black haired teen asked a devilish grin on her face.

**A/N:**** Right first of, thank you Nanashi-Chan for helping me write part of the kiss part . The song Nanashi sang was 'Taste the Blood' from Devil may Cry and the song I sang was 'Closer' by Nine Inch Nails …I don't own them (for those people obsessed with disclaimers.)**

**And for those that found it hard to read what Hikari said as she was hyperactive here it is again…**

"I'm fine. You really shouldn't worry about me. You're always worrying for me. Someone should really worry for you I mean you were injured. Oh my god you were injured are you alright now? Does it hurt anymore? Oh my I can't believe I forgot and it was all my fault. Did it scar? It must have scared! You had an operation. I am so sorry you now have a scar and it's all my fault. Although scars can be sexy…hmmm."

**And…**

"See! There we go Allen Nanashi told you you don't have to worry about me I'm perfectly fine. Although I do kind of feel tired."

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review. **


	12. Trouble

**A/N: ****YAY for update A very long chapter here for all of you to read…Had a few problems uploading this chapter so I hope you enjoy…**

**Chapter 12 Trouble.**

A week had passed since my encounter with Shits-hard on the roof and I was at breaking point, Schezar took to every opportunity to wrap his arms around me and give me a kiss on the cheek, he was a love struck fool. He never mentioned what he had said to Millerna when he had gone after her but what ever it was seemed to put him in a very good mood, he did not even bother with maids walking in on us as I tried to get away from his clinginess and he didn't deter rumours that spread faster than a forest fire.

I shuffled into my room and collapsed onto my oversized bed, face buried in the covers.

"Hey how's it going?" Nanashi walked in through the doors that divided our rooms.

"Which part? The research or the Shits-hard?" I asked moving to sit crossed legged on the bed.

"Both." My friend asked sitting down also.

"The Allen thing is getting annoying but the research is going well, did you know there were such things as 'destiny particles'?" Nanashi looked back at me with a blank expression.

"You're making that up?" She asked, I told her it was the truth. "So what are they?"

"I'm not quite sure, but I know of a book where I can find out." Nanashi sighed, she had become fed up with fighting soldiers and Knights in this past week she had just about defeated everyone that had challenged her, this however was a good thing as part of our plan to annoy Millerna like hell and to get her to become a jealous paranoid mess was to get as many people on our side as possible.

Nanashi naturally had been working on as many people as she could as I was busy researching, council members had become interested in my research and now demanded I make good progress with it…they were on our side at least. I had also managed to win over Dryden, his father which in turn meant the King would trust us, Allen and naturally his crew as they wouldn't say a word against their boss. Thanks to Nanashi a random number of soldiers, Knights and Guards as well as over half the maids and staff in the palace were also friends with us, she was currently working on getting Vans trust; a hard thing to do since he had been against us since day one but Merle liked Nanashi and Hitomi and I got along so he no other choice but to hang around us, he was currently teaching Nanashi how to use a Guymelef (not Escaflowne) in return for lessons with the sword. Although the stable master still hated us.

"Fancy going into the city and getting it with me?" I asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I said fancy sneaking out of the palace since I doubt Shits-Hard would let me go without a damn escort and getting this book with me?"

"YAY! Sneaking out ness is fun can we get something to eat whilst we're out I'm hungry?" I laughed as we planed our way out of the palace.

III

"Damn I hate dresses." Nanashi complained as we walked down the cobbled street. We had managed to borrow a couple of maids' dresses and sneak out through the service door; we soon came to the book store.

"Hello there young ladies how can I help?" The old store keeper asked as we walked in.

"I'm looking for a book, which I've been told you may have." I answered walking up to the counter.

"Oh and what would that book entail?" The old man looked at me over his half-moon glasses suspiciously.

"Destiny Particles. More specifically how to bend them." The short, old man hummed as he looked towards Nanashi who was reading the titles of the books in the small shop.

"That's an interesting subject, a complex one too. How do you know a book exists like that?"

"I saw one, in Zaibach; I believe it was their emperor that wrote the book?" The old man nodded humming again.

"Yes. Although it's all theory of course." He smiled as I looked down at him. "I think I have a copy." He stepped down from the stool he had been stood on (he really is that short) and wondered off into the back of the shop.

"Can we get some food after this?" Nanashi asked.

"Yeah sure I left a note."

"You left a note? What did it say?" Nanashi asked amazed since the whole point of sneaking out was that no one knew.

"Gone out with Nanashi, back before dark…maybe." Nanashi laughed as the old man returned.

"Here we are the 'Theory of Destiny', will you pay now or shall I send a bill out?" Nanashi and I looked at each other.

"Bill it to Millerna." Nanashi suggested.

"We can't do that! For one thing he won't believe we are guests in the palace."

"What about Allen?" I thought, then addressed the small shop keeper.

"Can you send a bill to a Knight Caeli?" I asked.

"Well depends, do you have any evidence you know the man?" We thought.

"How about the hickey she has on her neck?" The old man laughed as I hit Nanashi across the head.

"I see, so you are Sir Allen Schezar's latest love interest? I had heard from a friend of mine that works in the Palace he had taken to a young red head who locked herself in the library day and night, but will he mind being billed, its and expensive book?"

Nanashi sniggered, "Oh he won't mind if it's for Kari, they are _Lovers_ after all. She'll pay him back in _other_ ways, or you could take it as a wedding gift." Nanashi giggled as I glared at her.

"You are so dead Hikage."

We thanked the shop keeper and he promised to keep the title of the book off the bill and what was said between us.

We wondered around the city till we came to a small bar, inn type thing which sold decent food. As we walked in everyone looked at us, the inn had a bar to the left and tables and chairs around the room there was two people sat at the bar a couple more in the corner and several men crowded around a table playing poker; we took a seat not to far from the table and watched them play as we ate.

"He's bluffing!" Nanashi randomly stated as two men battled it out, the stakes were pretty high.

"What was that little lady?" The man who had his back to us asked, we had been watching him play for a while and he had lost a lot of money to the man who was sat opposite him.

"I said the guy with the scar is bluffing, when he bluffs he touches that scar on his forehead, he probably has a hand lower than yours and is trying to force you to fold." The men listened to Nanashi as she stood up and wondered over to the table, she looked down at the cards in play. The man she had been talking to had four of a kind of queens a good hand. "I would go all in." Nanashi suggested, the man looked at her worried, the man with the scar had been playing well he might have been bluffing but he was stiff acting confident. "Well?" Nanashi stressed.

The man with the scar laughed as he did as Nanashi had instructed.

"What does a woman know of cards." He joked as he too played all he had left. "'Full house' ladies and gentlemen." He grinned ear to ear until he saw the other players' cards.

"That was lucky Nanashi-Chan." I said now standing around the rest. "You had no idea that he had a full house, and four of a kind is cutting it close." Nanashi laughed.

"Yeah well that idiot showed his cards to his mate and I saw them in the reflection of the mirror behind him!" The man with the scar looked behind him and noticed the mirror he also noticed that from where Nanashi had been sat you could have easily seen his hand.

"WHY YOU CHEATING LITTLE BITCH!" The man raged, pushing over the table. "YOU'RE DEAD YOU LITTLE WHORE!" Nanashi and I grabbed our things and ran out of the inn as fast as we could.

"Oh crap!" Nanashi yelled as the whole group of men that had been supporting the man with the scar took chase too.

"I'll say one thing." I started. "These shoes are easy to run in but this damn dress isn't! Hold this!" I threw my bag at Nanashi as I ripped the bottom of the long dress off; Nanashi threw the stuff back to me and did the same with her own dress. We ran randomly around the city having little idea of where we were going. We thought we had lost them when as we turned a corned they were there, we went to turn back the way we had come but found we were surrounded.

"Oh bollocks!" Nanashi cursed.

"Your head is mine little missy!" The man with the scar stepped forward.

"What do we do?" Nanashi asked in a whisper.

"We fight back!" I answered taking a small golden cylinder out of my bag; Nanashi recognized it at being my extendable staff. "I'll see of I can free up a sword for you." A man stood behind me saw the small piece of gold and went to grab me; Nanashi and I parted as I flicked the staff open hitting two men in the process.

Nanashi grabbed a sword from one of the men I had hit and began fighting them as they came; I also took on all those that charged at me often knocking them back but not enough to knock them out which was annoying.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?!" The men stopped their attacks as six men on horse-back addressed us.

"Shit! Knights Caeli! RUN!" Shouted one man, everyone darted faster than the speed in which they had chased after us. "Are you two young ladies alright?" The leading man of the six knights asked as he trotted up to us.

"Fine." We both said in unison.

"So Nanashi-San what did you do this time." Nanashi looked up to see that the Knight Caeli was one of the higher ranking of the twelve knights and one she had defeated in a duel a few days ago.

"They started it." Nanashi pouted the man as well as the other five men laughed. Nanashi recognized them all as knights who she had fought. "Do you girls want a ride back to the Palace?" He asked holding out a hand to Nanashi so that she could mount his horse.

On the way back we explained how we had wanted to see the city as we hadn't been allowed to leave the castle but didn't want to be a bother to everyone else so went on our own. I hadn't met the six knights before but they had heard of me (just like everyone else) they mentioned that Allen was the youngest ever of the knights Caeli and was popular with the women of Asturia.

"He might be popular with the women but he only has eyes for Kari-Chan!" Nanashi taunted.

"Isn't that a good thing?" The Knight whose' horse I was riding asked.

"Yeah but his clinginess can get annoying." I sighed as we passed through the palace gates to see the blonde Knight stood talking to another knight in uniform.

"Kari!" He came up to me immediately and helped me dismount from the horse.

"Where have you been? And what happened to your dress?" He asked noticing the new shortness and ripped hem.

"Just out. I left a note." I said slightly annoyed.

"The council members are impatient; they want to know your findings." I sighed as I was led off back inside.

"Fine I'll just go entertain myself then." Nanashi complained, although there was no one there to hear her.

III

I had asked for a few hours to get my notes together and read up on a few more things before I read my findings out to the council which included the King, Van and Allen as well as random people who I didn't know. Allen also suggested I changed before I stood before them.

"Right…So…Zaibach…" I began nervous as I looked at all the eyes staring back at me. "Erm…Zaibach plan on creating a new world, a perfect world; but perfect in the eyes of their Emperor. To do this they have found away to change destiny." A few murmurs in the room, a man raised his arm.

"Isn't a perfect world a good thing?"

"Well no not really. In creating 'his' perfect world Zaibach has already attacked Freid and Fanelia. There have been so many deaths already."

"But if we try to stop them then a war might break out." Said another man.

"A war is already being planed." I snapped. "Zaibach will do anything to get their perfect world. A world where Zaibach rules."

"You said they plan to go about this through changing destiny correct?" Another man began. "But how exactly do they plan to change destiny?"

"They…" I had known people would ask but I was reluctant to say.

"Well Alkia-san?" Dryden was stood to the side of the small room along with Allen as Van sat next to the King of Asturia, I locked eyes with Van.

"They plan to use… the power of Atlantis." Gasps and outrage spread through the room.

"But that's suicide!"

"Those damn Atlantians caused their own downfall."

"Does Zaibach plan to destroy us all?"

"Enough!" King Aston spoke. "We will talk this through peacefully…tomorrow. It is late now and we need time to think through what we have heard. Tomorrow we meet in the 'Chamber Room'. Alkia-San I would like you there also, encase we have any other questions." I nodded to the King as he left, soon everyone left leaving me stood alone in the room.

The next day at the 'Chamber Room', it was agreed that all the allies of Asturia was to be called together to talk the situation through and renew alliances. For that occasion there was to be a ball.

"Kari." I looked up as I cleared away the remaining books in the library, it was Allen. We hadn't spoke since Nanashi and I had left the palace as I had been angry at him for worrying about me again and I had told him so. "You did well." He said quietly.

"Thanks." I answered back kind of snappish. I tried to reach a high shelf but found it just out of my reach, I was about to get a chair when Allen came up behind me and put the book back in its place. I refused to turn around and look at him.

"Princess Millerna has agreed to marry Dryden." The blonde knight said as he wrapped his arms around me in his typical manner, I would have shrugged him off if I wasn't interested in what he had to say.

"Good for her." I answered as if I didn't care.

"What's wrong? You seem in a bad mood." He asked turning me around to face him.

"It's nothing." I answered sharply getting away from him, knowing the subject of conversation had been changed.

"Seriously Kari. I can tell there's something wrong." He had grabbed hold of my hand to stop me from leaving.

"I said it was nothing!" I snapped again pulling away from him and running off down the hall leaving him speechless.

"That was a bit much." Nanashi was stood just down the hall and had heard me shout at him. Millerna had also heard me shout at Allen as she was coming to see me to tell me Dryden whished to talk to me so she followed us down the hall.

"He was getting annoying." I answered. We had come to a small study like room where I had also had scattered books lying around, Millerna listened in by the door.

"I said you wouldn't be able to cope with it Hikari." Nanashi said in her strange mature voice of reason.

"I'm fine; he's just getting a little _too_ serious." I answered sitting down on one of the chairs.

"Maybe a kind rejection is in order? Or you could just say 'Sorry I'm in love with Folken' instead" Nanashi suggested, we laughed at the thought.

"Who said I loved the guy?" I asked with a raised eye brow.

"Well isn't it obvious?"

"And what about you and Dilandau? I seem to remember you two getting friendly but then there's always Miguel, you were so stressed out when you remembered he was supposed to be killed." I teased

"Hey Mi-Chan doesn't deserve to die." Nanashi moaned "And yes well Dilly-Sama is just so uberly awesome. Is uberly a word?? Oh well. And dude YOU HAVE LIKE OVER 200 PICTURES ON YOUR LAPTOP OF HIM might I remind a lot of them were topless shots!!" Nanashi ranted.

"Oh and what about you? Shall I make a list? Let's see we have: Gojyo, Hiei, Sephiroth, Hidan, Alucard, Dante, Roy, Kimblee, Matt, Dilandau, Gambit did I miss anyone?"

Nanashi thought. "Hisagi." She stated. We stared at each other for a moment then burst out in laughter.

_Meanwhile outside the room… _

"Nanashi-San called her 'Hikari' so has it been 'Hikari' all along?" Millerna thought as she listened on.

"Anyway wasn't this all your idea?" Nanashi began. "I mean you're the one helping them out, it was your idea that they trade us off for that thing in Freid, and don't deny it I know you suggested it to him."

"And so if I did, what's that got to do with anything. My getting close to Allen is so Hitomi didn't, which avoided all the problems that would have arose through her confused heart."

"Yeah and now she is truly in love and with Van so you can stop leading Shits-Hard on if he's getting as annoying as you say."

"But we still need to make sure they are on our side until the time comes." I answered back.

"Wait I'm confused. To avoid any unnecessary deaths – The Dragon slayers, Dilandau and Folken included – we are helping Asturia stop Zaibach yet are helping Zaibach get away with it???" Nanashi pondered.

"Right, by making sure Hitomi and Van get together there are no clouds in Dornkirk's future because those two are happy. The clouds came about because Hitomi was unsure about her feelings and the future she wanted." Nanashi suddenly understood again.

"Right, but because you got to Allen before Hitomi really could she doesn't have these feelings meaning Dornkirk's perfect world in on course. So why are he helping Asturia stop them again?"

"Because Zaibach needs to be stopped or else there will be a war, so we are helping Asturia understand Zaibach's plan so they can stop them peacefully."

"And so saving everyone. Which has so far been accomplished!" Nanashi and I had finally become clear on what we were doing…although it was confusing.

Unfortunately for us Millerna had selective hearing and all she picked up on was 'using Allen' and 'helping Zaibach'.

III

"I am NOT wearing this!" It had taken only one week for the ball to be arranged in which the allies would come together to discuss Zaibach's plan. I had also heard that Zaibach had been invited to stand their argument and discus their true intentions. Nanashi and I had also noticed that Millerna had been avoiding us and glaring at us more than usual. Nanashi and I were in our room trying on the outfits we had been given and ordered to wear at the ball; it was a massacred ball for some odd reason so we were also given masks to wear that went with the outfit.

Nanashi and I had been given almost matching dresses, there were a black dress with a white waist pincher for Nanashi and a white dress with a black waist pincher for me the problem with the outfits were that they had really puffy shoulders and underskirts almost reminiscent of Victorian England. We stood in my room looking the mirror as there was a knock at the door.

"Don't you two look lovely." Van and Allen had come to tell us that people were arriving and we were expected downstairs. Allen was in his typical Knights Caeli uniform with a plain 'Zorro' type mask as all the Knights Caeli were expected to wear this as there were still technically on duty. Van was dressed in an outfit very similar to his coronation gown, (minus the stupid hat) he wore a mask which reminded me of a dragon. When they had left Nanashi glared at me.

"I am so wearing something else." She huffed as she began to undo the clips of the waist pincher.

"I'll get the scissors and change the outfits, we were after all ordered to wear _these_ outfits…they just didn't say what part of the garment we had to wear." As I changed the dresses to suit us a little better Nanashi went on the hunt for better masks.

An hour later we were ready to go down.

As we walked into the large ball room we were in full view of everyone as you had to walk down some stairs before you came to the dance floor, the band was opposite the stairs in front of floor to ceiling windows, there were also floor to ceiling windows on the other two sides of the room which were open to let in the cool night air and allow people to wonder into the palace gardens and courtyards. Flowers were everywhere arranged in huge vases which were taller than me. Nanashi and I smiled as we looked around the room.

Nanashi had found a jester mask half black half white with the ace of spades on it, and decided to wear that, the mask also acted as something to keep her hair up as she had done her hair in the style of Darcia from Wolf's Rain with it coming up and over the sides of the mask. Her outfit was the top half of the dress with its shoulders cut up so they were less puffy, a pair of black shorts with black and white striped over-the-knee socks as well as a pair of platform dolly shoes. For my own outfit I had de-puffed the sleeves and made them off the shoulder, I had cut the dress so it was shorter, it now stopped a good five inches above my knee yet still having the underskirts of lace and netting so it puffed out still although I had used the material from Nanashi's dress to give it a black under layer. I also wore a pair of black long socks held up by a suspender belt and a pair of white very high 'Mary-Jane' shoes. I had pulled my hair into a high pony tale and spiked it out in true Washu style, my mask was also black and white but just covered my eyes (much like Allens 'Zorro' Mask).

"I see your pets have arrived Dilandau." Folken had turned up to represent Zaibach and brought Dilandau along with him, there were wearing their typical clothing; Dilandau in his Dragon Slayers uniform and a red mask; Folken wore his cloth cloak which only covered his false arm instead of his sorcerers cloak and a unusual mask which looked like it belonged in the film 'Labyrinth'.

Nanashi and I walked down the steps as the band began playing again; the people in the room began a waltz as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"They don't expect us to dance do they?" Nanashi asked.

"I don't know but I saw Dilandau stood at the side somewhere, you could always find him."

"I might just do that, heads up." Nanashi warned as she scurried off spotting the blonde haired knight walking through the dancing couples, I groaned not wanting to deal with him. Thankfully another woman grabbed him and pulled him into the dance before he reached me.

"Can I take this dance?" I turned around after hearing the cool whisper from The Strategos of Zaibach.

"Erm…No…I can't…" I blushed not expecting his offer.

"Then I'll teach you." He answered with a slight smile taking my hand with his real hand; I placed my left hand on his shoulder as I looked around at the other dancers to see how it was done. Folken laughed quietly when I flinched as he placed his false arm around my waist taking up the stance of the waltz.

"Yo! How you doing?" Nanashi crept up on the silver haired pyromaniac who was standing by one of the large vases of flowers.

"Nice entrance." Dilandau answered back.

"Why thank you, you stand out pretty much yourself." The red clad teen smirked.

"I heard that Kari-San was close to Schezar." He said after a moment's silence.

"Awww what's the matter feeling left out?" Nanashi mocked. "Yeah but don't worry about it, she's only playing him along. Anyway she seems preoccupied with your boss at the moment." Nanashi giggled as she watched me try and dance a blush across my cheeks as I kept my head down watching my feet.

Suddenly Nanashi froze as she heard a small buzzing sound in her ear, she slowly turned her head round to see a larger than normal bee buzzing around her head. The black haired teen screamed jumping backwards into one of the large vases sending it crashing to the floor, people stopped dancing as the vase shattered and the water spilled out onto the dance floor. Nanashi yelled some abuse at the bee before yelling at Dilandau for laughing and storming off out of the room. Dilandau chased after her as servants cleaned up the mess and the dancing couples moved away.

"I see Nanashi-San's destructive nature hasn't changed." Folken mused.

"I best go check on her." I said as I walked off back towards our room.

"Damn bee! What the fucking hell was a fucking bee doing out at night anyway? And what the flipping heck was up with its fucking size that fucking bee was huge!" Nanashi ranted as she flung open the door. "I got flipping wet too!" She moaned as she walked into the en-suite we had. "Stay!" She ordered Dilandau slamming the bathroom door. A few moments later she came out of the bathroom in a black and white striped skirt, white blouse and black waistcoat, she had changed her Mary-Jane's into a pair of knee high black boots.

"Well that livened things up a bit." Dilandau began sitting on Nanashi's _very _big bed. "I was either about to fall asleep or die from boredom."

"Well the fun doesn't have to stop there," Nanashi grinned. "Follow me." Nanashi led Dilandau into the bathroom and stood on a chair which was at the far corner of the room, she then commenced to slide one of the ceiling tiles to the side and clamber up. "Well, you coming?" Nanashi shouted. "It's a little cramped and you might need this." Nanashi passed the young Dragon Slayer a medical mask and disappeared into the ceiling, Dilandau shrugged put on the medical mask and clambered up too, placing the ceiling tile back as Nanashi instructed.

"Hey Nanashi-San you here?" I called walking to her room from my own, I looked around noticing the discarded clothing and slight boot marks on the chair. "Hmm glad I left the ball room then." I thought to myself going back into my own room.

I opened up the doors to the balcony (they had been fixed and I had been given a key) and stepped out into the cool night air, my room as well as Nanashi's looked out onto the city but below us was a small forest. The Palace was built on a hill into the mountain that formed part of the cities security.

"Someone told me I could find you here." I turned around at the sound of the voice intruding my silence. "They told me to check her room and library balconies and then the roof."

"Dilandau disappeared with Nanashi. I'm not quite sure where they went but give them a maximum of an hour and I'm sure they would have blown something up by then giving away their position." Folken smiled his all too common almost forced smile I had seen several times on the Vione.

"I didn't come looking for Dilandau. I came to speak with you." Folken walked out onto the balcony, the lights from inside shadowing his face. "I apologise for what happened in Freid it was out of my control however, _this _was not necessary." By 'this' Folken was referring to telling the council members Zaibach's plans and the meeting that had arose.

"I do apologise it was out of my control." I replied using his words noting his frown.

"We had an agreement." I stated trying not to raise my voice.

"That we did, but it was not I who deployed the troops. There was nothing I could do about the attack."

_Meanwhile, above everyone…_

"Damn it Dilandau I swear you look up my skit and I'll kick you in the head!" Nanashi half yelled as they came to a section in the roofing where they had to crawl on hands and knees then squeeze their way up a section of rafters. "Ah Shit Spider." Nanashi cursed waving her hand around to get the large eight legged bug to move.

"What did you say, Nanashi-Chan? Wow that's a lot of lace." Nanashi felt her ears turn red as she straightened her left leg to kick Dilandau in the face behind her.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY YOU DEMENTED PERVERTED PSYCHOPATHIC PRICK!?!"

"What I was on about the skirt…you're wearing lacy underwear?" Unknown to Dilandau Nanashi was blushing as red as my hair.

"Shut up!" Nanashi snapped. "We're almost there."

_Back on the balcony…_

"You could have convinced them attacking Freid was a bad move, which it was. You should have expected this. Innocent people died for no reason. I will not allow that." Folken listened intently like he does before he spoke.

"Sacrifices need to be made for the greater good of Gaea, death is inevitable."

"For the greater good of Gaea!!" I almost yelled at the notation. "What good is it to Gaea if everyone's dead? I want Gaea to be a peaceful world yes, but not if half of the people have to die in the process. It's insane." Folken smiled again, but not his empty forced smile a much warmer, knowledgeable one that a father might portray after seeing that his children have grown to be a decent person, a proud smile.

"And here I thought you a heartless creature." He answered. "I thought you don't care what happened to these people that you would do anything to get what you want. You have already seduced the poor Sir Allen to work into your plans, yet here you are stood before me trying to save people that have no relevance to you. What does it matter if people here on Gaea die? You are not from this world. Or do I have it wrong? In saving others do you plan to save a certain someone else?" I stepped back as Folken stepped forward, I was not expecting him to do this, to attack me so and leave me speechless and lost.

"You fight for your brother…" I managed to say as he closed the gap between us.

_Back with Nanashi… _

"Oh Gaea! What on Earth is that smell?" Dilandau retched as the two approached a large vast space of rafters. "Is that music?" He asked breathing in through his mouth, holding his nose.

"Yup!" Nanashi answered now hunched over as the space gave them enough room to do so. "We're right above the ball room, and that you can smell is Asturias finest horse manure." Nanashi chirped as is the smell was nothing to her. "It has been here a few days now, it's why they have all the flowers below; to mask the smell."

"But why is it up here?" Dilandau asked as Nanashi stopped coming to a large bolt in the floor.

"It's a practical joke Kari and I planed. Well she found the blue-prints of the palace for me I did the rest, she's been busy. On each of the chandeliers is a small bomb made of manure and bread dough mix. I set the detonator up here in the rafters so it would be easier for me to set of the bombs…its simple really. So here goes!"

_Balcony… _

Millerna had left the ball room after the water and broken vase had been cleaned up to look for Nanashi and myself in order to complain to us, naturally she went to my room first as that was the first door you reached coming from the ball room. She stood in the darkness watching the two figures on the balcony; she didn't know what to think by what she saw…shock or outrage.

I stiffened when Folken placed a warm hand on my cheek, "You have a kind heart indeed." He whispered in my ear before out lips met, I felt the soft pressure of his claw like hand on my left arm as I gave in to the kiss.

In the end it was not Millerna that parted us but a loud explosion echoing out into the night, a few moments later there came a another loud clash which shuck the balcony.

"What the?" Folken said thinking aloud more than anything.

"Nanashi…" I sighed.

_Ballroom…_

"SHIT! DON'T YOU DARE LET GO!!!" Dilandau screamed at Nanashi as he clung to the teens waist suspended above the ball room. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!?" He screamed again.

"I guess I used too much explosive…" Nanashi clung to a ceiling post trying desperately to hold on. In the shock of the over large explosion of the manure and dough mix bombs the ceiling had given way falling into the Ball room Chandelier and all.

"God stay still will you!" Nanashi moaned as she tried to pull herself and Dilandau up. People had crowded around the broken chandelier and rafters looking up at the two teens hanging above them. "You pull down my skirt and I will kill you!" Nanashi growled as she felt Dilandau slip. The red clad teen continued to slip until he lost his grip altogether, thankfully Nanashi managed to grab his wrist. "Fuck you're heavy!" Nanashi struggled to support herself and Dilandau with now only one hand. Nanashi looked up as she felt something tickling her hand that held on to the beam, she tried to move her fingers to get the small spider to move and even tried blowing at it but it just stayed on her hand…the urge to move it became immense. It was just as the spider moved that Nanashi heard something she had rather not have, the rafter was giving way to the shock of the bomb and the concentrated weight. Dilandau felt Nanashi's grip going and the bowing of the beam and looked down at the mess of twisted metal and wood which they would soon be falling towards.

Before the two teens knew it the rafter had given way and they did indeed begin to fall, Dilandau and Nanashi screamed through instinct but the black haired teen also reacted on another instinct releasing the white wings she had used to save myself as I fell from the Escaflowne. Dilandau clung to her as she grabbed him and flew out of the open window and away from the amazed crowd of people.

As Nanashi flew to a safe spot she could feel Dilandau's heart racing and laughed inwardly.

_Back with me…_

Millerna had come out of the shadows to show herself, a stern look on her face. "I believe you are needed else where Lord Folken." She said coldly, he merely glanced at me before he bowed to the princess and left us. "So I was right." She stated an ice cold glare staring right at me. "You _are_ helping Zaibach!"

"So telling Asturia and the allies Zaibach's plans counts as helping them now." I answered back sarcastically.

"I _saw_ you! You and HIM! You've just been leading Allen on all this time, using all of us!"

"It was just a kiss princess." I answered calmly.

"Just a Kiss!!! If you cared for Allen at all you wouldn't be doing such things! Especially with the enemy! It would break his heart. Don't you have any conscience at all?"

"If I don't believe I have one then it can't bother me."

_Nanashi and Dilandau… _

"Okay why are we on a roof?" Dilandau and Nanashi had come to a stop on part of the roof of the palace and was sat on the roof tiles.

"Easier this way." Nanashi responded pulling her knees up to her chest looking out into the night, still hearing the muddled cries of people in the ballroom.

"I wonder what Kari-Chan is up to?" Dilandau thought sitting next to Nanashi.

"Most likely getting molested by Shits-Hard or with the council." Dilandau picked up on the slight anger in Nanashi's tone.

"Is everything alright between you two?" He asked.

"Oh make it sound like we're a married couple or something!" Nanashi snapped half playfully. "But yeah I guess, she's just been busy with everything and the fact Shits-hard barely leaves her alone for five seconds is so annoying. We are supposed to have complete freedom her since Kari-Chan won a fight against Van but sure they've let _me_ do what I want within reason its just no fun without Kari-Chan." Dilandau placed his hand over Nanashi's as an act of compassion.

Suddenly a loud and sharp scream broke the silence between them; Nanashi was quick on her feet.

"What was that?" Dilandau asked standing a little slower unsure about being on the roof top.

"It came from behind us come on!" Nanashi moved as fast as she could across the roof tiles till she heard yelling which she swore was Allens but she had never heard him like this before, the tow lent over looking down at the scene.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Allen was yelling at Millerna holding her by the shoulders almost shaking her. "MILLERNA! WHAT DID YOU DO?" Allen was told to calm down by another Knight he was furious and the princess burst into tears collapsing to her knees.

"I'm…I didn't mean to…Please Allen listen to me!" Millerna stood again grapping hold of the knight's arm. "She was using you, she doesn't care about you." Allen pulled his arm away from her and looked down at the sobbing princess, Nanashi was astounded at the amount of anger she saw in his normally calm blue eyes.

"ENOUGH MILLERNA!" He yelled again. "Just stop it! You best pray she isn't dead…" Allen stopped himself running a gloved hand through his hair. "Send out a search party." He ordered a few knights turning his back on the princess.

"Please Allen…" She continued to beg. "She doesn't _love_ you!" Allen turned his cold and enraged eyes back onto the princess.

"If _any_ harm has befallen her because of your stupid jealousy I will _never_ forgive you." The blond knight left the balcony as above them Dilandau squeezed Nanashi's hand as she trembled.

"Kari…" She whispered biting her lip.

**A/N: Damn Millerna she always gets in the way OMG! Poor me. You will have to wait till the next chapter to see the outcome of my fate TT.**


	13. Painkillers and Alcohol

**A/N: ****Yo I'm so sorry for the really late update but you know me and this chapter is over 4000 words long so that should make up for some of the lateness…This chapter is dedicated to Hana-Chan and J-bo XD.**

**Chapter 13 Painkillers and Alcohol.**

Nanashi jumped down from the roof shocking the princess who still had tears running down her cheeks.

"N-Nanashi!" Before Millerna could say another word Nanashi hit her hard across the cheek sending her to the floor, guards who had heard the argument and knew what Millerna had done were unsure how to act.

"YOU FUCKING BLONDE BITCH! WHAT THE HELL DID KARI DO TO DESERVE THAT?" Nanashi screamed in furry. "JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CONTROL YOUR FUCKING JEALOUSY DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN JUST PUSH KARI OFF A FUCKING BALCONY AND TRY AND KILL HER!!!" Dilandau had jumped down from the roof and was trying to calm her down. "DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND CALM ME DOWN DILANDAU! MY BEST FRIEND JUST GOT PUSHED OFF THE BALCONY BY THAT BITCH!!!"

"At least stop yelling." Dilandau said as Millerna stood and he got between them seeing that Nanashi was threatening to punch her again.

"Oh so I see. You're both at it!" Millerna said scornfully.

"Both at what?" Nanashi held back the urge to hit her again as she glared daggers at the princess.

"Zaibach! She was up here with Zaibach's Strategos. I heard you two talking before, you mentioned helping them. I know you're working for them! The fact you're here with _him_ proves it!" Millerna seemed to have forgotten her grief of having Allen yell at her and was building up her own anger.

"Yeah. Okay we made an agreement back in Freid. Kari and I was to help them get that sword thing in return for Freid's safety." Millerna's expression suddenly changed. "Kari knew they would attack Freid for that thing so made that agreement to save lives! And as we all know Zaibach went against that agreement; she was most likely up here yelling at him." Millerna scowled.

"Yelling! I doubt there was much yelling going on as he had her in a lip-lock." Dilandau made a strange face a mix of disgust and confusion as Nanashi hummed.

"Erm…It was his way for showing his utmost apologies perhaps?" She answered innocently not expecting that turn of events. "So it was jealousy!" the black haired teen quickly changed the subject. "You saw Kari with Folken and got pissed off because she's been with Allen…Allen???…The search party!" Nanashi darted off through my room and down to the stables where the search party was remembering one was being set up. Dilandau wondered off nervously locating Folken and travelled back to the Vione.

"I'm coming too!" Nanashi demanded in front of the group of people preparing the horses, it annoyed her a little that they hadn't left yet.

"No!" It was Allen that answered. "You're too attached to this." The blond knight mounted his horse.

"AND YOUR NOT!!" Nanashi yelled loosing her temper. "I'm coming too!" Before he could protest, she had jumped onto the back of his horse. "Get going!" she ordered clinging to the back of the saddle.

The group of people that had formed the search party moved out into the forest. They reckoned I could have fallen a maximum of 120 feet (the forest is made up mainly of a type of oak which can grow to be around 100 foot meaning for all those that can do math there is around 20 foot drop before you get to the top of the trees. Altogether – Balcony to ground - it's around 9 stories…OO bloody hell I'm as good as dead!)

Everyone split up along the side of the palace, because the forest was on a slope it was hard to say where I was, Nanashi was quiet as they searched for any sign of disturbance.

The young teen looked up into the trees and noticed the canopy was very thick, cutting out near all the light.

"The trees have a canopy that can grow 40 feet thick; several people have fallen from these trees and survived." Allen said trying to be reassuring.

"Right, great so she only has a potential dangerous fall of 60 feet." Nanashi snapped shifting in the saddle.

"Keep your hopes up Nanashi." The teen knew that the knight was doubtful.

"WE FOUND HER!" The shout came sooner than expected but to Nanashi and those elsewhere it seemed like an eternity for it to come. Allen and Nanashi turned round and headed towards the growing noise.

"KARI!" Nanashi almost flew off the horse as she saw my unconscious form lying on a stretcher. "OH MY GOD! HOW IS SHE!?!" A doctor had come with the group on the search and was seeing to me.

"She has injured her left shoulder and has fractured at least five ribs, I don't think they are broken I would have felt it and she would be having much more problems breathing. She had a nasty looking cut on her forehead which could explain the unconsciousness, it will need stitches when we return and she will need constant surveillance. I am concerned about the head injury the most."

"STITCHES!" Nanashi screamed. "THAT BITCH GAVE HER STITCHES! FRACTURED RIBS! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!?!" Nanashi turned towards Allen as the doctor and a few other men began transporting me back towards the Palace.

"I don't think there is anything we can do Nanashi. Millerna is the princess of this country and…" The Knight stopped mid-sentence and re-saddled the horse.

"…and Kari's just a nobody? Yeah I get it… princess is untouchable." Nanashi snapped.

III

Five days passed and I was still unconscious, Nanashi had been ordered to clean up some of the mess she had made as the palace was paying for my medical bills, and Allen had hardly left my side.

"How is she?" Nanashi asked walking into the dimly lit room; the light curtains on the end of my bed and the right side were drawn as I lay flat on my back much like a dead person.

"The doctor didn't say much but I know he's getting concerned. She shouldn't have been unconscious this long." The Blonde Knight was sat in a high backed chair beside me; he wore his casual clothing as he was off duty (the leader of the Knights had given him until I was conscious again off because he couldn't concentrate) and had hardly slept.

"Look get some sleep, Kari would flip if she knew you were driving yourself into the ground because of her. She hates that you worry as it is."

"This is different." He said in a whisper. "Kari's hurt and it's my fault…I have the right to be worried."

"No…It's Millerna's fault. She was the one who pushed Kari off the damned balcony." Nanashi said getting annoyed with the knights' behaviour.

"I should have been clearer, refused her straight." Nanashi had had enough with the Knights' self pity over these few days and couldn't put up with it any longer.

"WILL YOU GET A GRIP? IT DOES NO GOOD JUST SAT HERE WORRYING ABOUT HER AND BLAMING YOUR SELF!! IF YOU WANT TO DO ANYTHING BLAME THAT BITCH MILLERNA WHO DID THIS TO HER AND GET SOMETHING DONE ABOUT IT!! AND YOU CAN STOP WITH THE WHOLE SELF PITY THING BECAUSE IF KARI FOUND OUT SHE WOULD GIVE YOU AN EAR FULL TOO!!"

"Damn it Nanashi you could wake the dead…."

"KARI!!" Nanashi had to stop her self glomping me right there and then reminding herself about the injuries. "Oh… erm… how do you feel?"

"Like I was hit really hard in the ribs and my head kinda hurts too." I answered with a quiet, raspy voice. "What happened?" I asked.

"You don't remember?" The black haired teen asked, by this time I had noticed the Knight beside me looking like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

"I remember seeing you leave the ball room with Dilandau and that's about it, I think I talked with Folken too." Nanashi grinned ear to ear.

"Oh well then you forgot the fact that said member of the Zaibach Empire and you did more than 'talk'." I thought a moment on what that could have meant as Allen cleared his throat and stood from the chair.

"I best contact the doctor, he will be relived to hear that you have woken." The knight left the room and Nanashi took his place in the chair.

"He's a little sore about it. Although he has hardly left this chair for the five days you were out."

"Five days!" I gasped having no idea.

"Wait I am talking to Kari right?" Nanashi wanted to make sure before we carried on any conversation.

"Yeah it's me… last thing I remember clearly was the doppelganger."

"That was just over a month ago. And I can tell you now, Hikari got up to loads...Are you really telling me you can't remember anything clearly from over a month ago?"

"Just snippets of things. I remember darkness and sometimes voices. What did I miss?"

"Well…"Nanashi hesitated. "Millerna hates you because you and the blonde one are a little too close for comfort. Most people hate Millerna because she pushed you off the balcony."

"She pushed me off a balcony!?!" I tried to sit up but a wave of pain flowed through my chest.

"Yeah where did you think all that pain came from?" Nanashi laughed slightly.

"Anyway where was I …oh yes. You and Allen are practically an item although it's all over the palace that you were kissed by Folken." My eyes widened at the surprising news.

"I kissed Folken?" I almost shrieked in disbelief.

"No he kissed you, the council believe it was some plot to get you on their side and that he planed to drug you or something but Millerna interrupted. So even though she pushed you off the balcony she's not seen as a bad guy." Nanashi frowned. "You should have seen the amount of shit I went through trying to explain about the whole ceiling coming down thing, and the reason why I was with Dilandau and my wings and everything. In future I am so leaving the explaining to you."

"What did you say?" I asked out of pure interest.

"I said I didn't know about the wing thing that it must have been the terror and I was with Dilandau because he followed me which was the truth. I did tell them that it was my idea about the bomb thing but that I had no intention to bring down the ceiling. They've been having me clear up all the manure in the ball room as well as giving me extra stable clearouts." The black haired teen slouched in the large chair pouting like a child.

III

Another week passed before the doctor allowed me to move from bed rest, I was still on strong painkillers for my ribs and couldn't really walk around much but it was way better than just sat playing cards and mah-jong with Nanashi (when she wasn't fulfilling her punishments) Merle and Hitomi.

" _**Kimi wa seijitsu na moralist  
Kirei na yubi de boku wo nazoru  
Boku wa junsui na terrorist  
Kimi no omou ga mama ni  
Kakumei ga okiru"**_

Nanashi was cleaning the stables as she did everyday at this time, I was feeling a lot better (the amount of painkillers I had taken only moments before helped) so was helping her clean although we ended up singing and dancing to the song Vanilla by Gackt using brooms to dance around and sing into.

"_**Koi ni shibarareta specialist  
Nagai tsume wo taterareta boku  
Ai wo tashikametai egoist  
Kimi no oku made tadoritsukitai"**_

We were having too much fun to even bother if anyone was stood outside or could hear the controversial lyrics.

"_**Kimi no kao ga toozakaru  
Ah boku ga boku de naku naru mae ni"**_

**"**_**Ai shitemo ii kai? yureru yoru ni  
Aru ga mama de ii yo motto fukaku  
Kuruoshii kurai ni nareta kuchibiru ga  
Toke au hodo ni  
Boku wa...kimi no...vanilla"**_

**"_Kami-sama...Nante kidorisugi  
Sonna cool na kimi wa plastic  
Atsui manazashi ni wa ecologist  
Sono moeru kuchizuke ga modokashii"_**

**_"Yugande iku kimi no kao ga  
Ah boku ga boku da iraremasu you ni"_**

By this time a few soldiers as well as Schezar and Van had appeared at the entrance to the stables and was listening to the song we performed.

**_"Ai shitemo ii kai? yureru yoru ni  
Aru ga mama de ii yo motto hayaku  
Kurushii kurai ni nureta kuchibiru ga  
Kotoba nante mou  
Kimi to boku not burning love"_**

"Did they just say what I thought they said?" Van asked in as much shock as when he had walked in on me singing Closer (Vanilla's Lyrics are worse XD)

Naturally there was a small guitar rift between the lines and a dance that went with the gap of lyrics…Nanashi and I performed the dance noticing the small crowd of people. We sang the next verse facing each other leaning forward on the brooms.

**_"Ah ikutsu asa wo mukaereba  
Ah yoru wa owaru no darou ka  
Ah sora ni chiribamerareta  
Ah shiroi hana ni kakomarete iku"_**

The Knight walked into the stables expecting to stop the singing as Millerna had arrived. Nanashi was laughing after our performance with the brooms but I intended to finish noticing Millerna…The bitch had made me unconscious for five days and I had been told how Allen had reacted… I was going to drive that dagger through her heart and keep it there.

**_"Ai shitemo ii kai? yureru yoru ni  
Aru ga mama de ii yo I've seen a tail"_**

**_Kuyashii kurai ni  
Kimi ni hamatteru no ni  
A crew sees crying knees  
I wanna need. Not betray!"_**

I sang the lyrics walking up to the knight in a manor that fitted the lyrics.

**_"Ai shitemo ii kai? yureru yoru ni"_**(Can I love you? In this trembling night.)

He stood half entranced as I ran my hands up his chest teasingly, the crew cheered slightly.

**_"Aru ga mama de ii yo motto kimi wo  
Kuruoshii kurai ni nareta koshitsuki ga  
Toke au hodo ni_**( Do it just like that . . . do it more . . . you are . . .  
At the grind of your hips against mine)

Nanashi bit her lip not wanting to laugh when the knight blushed. I was pressed right against him my arms around his neck.

**_Kimi wa...boku no...bannin da"_** (You are . . . my . . . slave driver)

The whole group of people watching cheered loudly as on the last line I did something Nanashi didn't expect…I kissed the Knight… a full on deep kiss; even he seemed surprised. It was then Nanashi noticed the clenched fits of the Princess Millerna, she had dug her nails into her palms and was drawing blood as everyone else cheered at seeing their boss get a little action.

"Woah…What's in those Painkillers?" Nanashi pondered.

"I don't know but I want some." One of the crew members answered back. Millerna stormed off, possibly going to report the provocative behaviour. Everyone else began to drift off taking what they had come for and in good spirits I on the other hand was not.

"Will you stop worrying!" I demanded. "I've been cooped up in that room for two weeks half of that being unconscious. The painkillers the doctor gave me are working fine. Can't I have a little fun?" After my little escapade the first thing he had said was that I should be resting.

"The painkillers might stop you from feeling anything but all this dancing around isn't doing you any good." He answered back in a serious tone.

I glared back. "I didn't hear you complaining a second ago." I stormed off before he could say anything more.

Nanashi shook her head. "Told you not to worry so much."

III

"Should she really be drinking that much?" One of the Crusade members asked as I downed another bottle of Sake.

"I'm sure she will be fine." Nanashi laughed watching me take another bottle off the tray.

"But isn't she on painkillers?" A different crew member asked.

Nanashi shrugged. "She's more fun this way; you saw what she was like just hyped up on painkillers. You can get her to do just about anything when she's been drinking."

"Really?" Nanashi glared at the over excited crew member.

"Not that you pervert!"

"Who's a pervert?" I asked taking notice of the conversation.

"Pyle." Everyone answered simultaneously.

"Oh…well I know that." I answered back as if a three year old would know.

"Is there anything you don't know?" Nanashi said sardonically. I sat back staring blank faced as I tried to think.

"I bet she doesn't know how many layers make up the bosses Uniform." Gaddess was the one to pop the question that would entertain us for the next hour or so.

"How do you know?" Gaddess glared at the black haired teen as everyone laughed.

"Well?" He asked me.

"No but I could find out." I answered defensively.

It was set, Nanashi and I had been dared to find out how many layers made up Allens Knight Caeli uniform Gaddess told me the rules. "Okay then, you're not allowed to ask, look in his room for his spare uniform, ask any other Knight or hunt out any other possible spare Uniform or ask anyone else for that matter. Oh and you can't hurt him"

"We could always jump him." Nanashi suggested as we walked down the hall looking for the blonde Knight.

"What and rip the clothes off him?" I asked with a raised brow, Nanashi shrugged. "Okay but he might get the wrong idea." Nanashi growled as she hit me across the head.

"Damn you are dirty minded when mixing painkillers and alcohol."

"You're the one who said we forcibly strip him…I don't want to find out if he's into that kind of thing thank you very much."

"Well the only way we are going to do this is if he strips, so I guess we could just wait until he naturally has to take off the uniform, I mean he can't sleep in the damn thing. And the guys did give us till dawn."

"Or till either the painkillers or Alcohol wears out and I realize how stupid this is."

Nanashi and I soon found out that Allen was working on some paperwork so would probably not be taking his uniform off naturally any time soon. We walked around the palace thinking of ideas which all resulting in stripping him forcibly or spying on the Knight.

"Okay people are going to think we are perverts if we end up spying on him." Nanashi sighed slumping down onto the floor.

"Just until he's in his boxers or something." I said sitting down beside her feeling a slight pain in my rips.

"I can think of someone else I would rather like to see in their boxers." Nanashi giggled.

"I can think of a whole list." I added.

"Do you think we can bend the 'not hurting' rule?"

"Nanashi" I scolded reminding her that if we broke the rules we ended up with each crew member's stable duty.

"Okay maybe not...hmmm…itching powder, or ants' maybe? We could always get him drunk, might be a little difficult though since he's working and all. So I guess its down to stalking or seducing."

"What!" I shrieked. "I say we go for the stalking."

"Oh come on Kari-Chan you could get him out of those clothes faster and easier than any other the other suggestions we have come up with after today's performance in the stables."

I sat almost in tears at the thought; I had been trying to forget about the stables.

"We could plan it so that Millerna walks in." I shook my head. "And I will…promise not to mention it…ever." Again I shook my head that wasn't enough in exchange for having to go through with the plan. "Erm…I will…Help with little sibling sitting for the next year once we get back…"

"If we get back." I answered back; having Nanashi help me look after my four little sisters was a deal I would be crazy not to accept.

"When we get back." Nanashi corrected sternly. "Come on I know you hate baby-sitting the little monsters and who can blame you the triplets are Satan reincarnate." I couldn't help but laugh, I missed my home just like Nanashi missed her big brothers but it was fun on Gaea after all.

"Okay…But a whole year you got it!"

We walked back towards the study where Allen was catching up with his work, I finishing off the Sake as we went.

"Okay." I said taking a deep breath in as we stood a little to the side of the doors.

"Okay…God my brothers would kill me if they found out I did anything like this." I glared at my friend; she was not helping.

I silently opened one of the double doors and closed it behind me leaving a big enough gap for Nanashi to see through. I wasn't wearing any shoes so my foot steps were just the soft padding noise, nonetheless he still heard me and turned around to see who had walked in on his silence.

"Kari? What's wrong?" Perfect answer, just as I had expected from him.

"Nothing." I answered back with an innocent smile. "You're always worrying for me I just came to say that I was sorry." I made sure that he did not turn around fully so that he kept his back to the door by walking up to him. The chair that he sat on had no arm rests as it was borrowed from the side and not really made as a study chair which made straddling the Knight easier, it also had a low back so I could look over his shoulder at the door.

Allen shifted a little unsure. "And why do you think you need to say sorry."

"Because it's not fair." Putting my arms around his neck and kissing him on the corner of the mouth. "I've put you under so much stress, you've got behind with your work, been neglecting your duties and all because of me." Allen brushed the hair away from my face so he could see my eyes better as he smiled.

"It doesn't bother me, doesn't worrying come as part of it." I frowned ever so slightly… part of what? I looked over to Nanashi by the door that didn't seem to hear what he had said and gave me a thumbs up. Allen seemed to notice that I had been distracted but thought it was because of what he said…which it mainly was. "I know you don't like me worrying for you as much as I do." He continued sliding his hands down my arms to rest on my waist. "But Zaibach and the Doppelganger and the balcony…I was scared for you." I laughed and kissed him again remembering why I was in this situation.

"You didn't have to be scared for me, I think I was scared enough for both of us." I don't think he took well to my little joke. "Well I'm sorry," I said kissing him again and working on taking off that damned pink frilly bit at his collar to realise that it connected to the collar via a button and that the collar itself was buttoned right up and only unbuttoned up until the waistcoat part.

"Kari?" The Knight moaned in rejection stopping my hands from unbuttoning anymore of his uniform. "I…"

"What?" I asked cutting him off and beginning to undo his sword belt, hearing it clatter as it hit the floor, then working my way through the buttons on the skit thing that goes over the trousers. "Well that's interesting." I mused. I expected to see a trouser line and waistcoat although what I saw was an all in one outfit. Allen obviously noticed my amusement with his outfit and tried to draw my attention else where by placing my arms back around his neck and kissing my neck. I noticed Nanashi in the hall still, pretending to act like a vampire and tried to stifle a laugh.

"Is something funny?" Allen asked.

"No nothing…." I answered back now blushing as another thought popped into my head.

"What is it?"

"Nothing I was just wondering…since this uniform is so complicated and all…what would happen if you really needed to go…" The Blonde Knight laughed.

"I'm being to think you're trying to undress me."

"Hmmm…Maybe." I grinned beginning to unbutton the front part of the all in one blue section of the uniform which I realized was kind of like a pair of dungarees with the white shirt with puffy shoulders underneath.

When I had finally gotten to flesh I noticed that Nanashi had multiplied and now the crew members were watching too. I ran my hands across the knights chest feeling that he was quite toned… how he came to be this way was a mystery since I had barely seen him train or work out in the months I had been on Gaea…it was then I noticed the scar left behind from the time he had protected me back in Freid.

"Does it hurt?" I asked running my hand across it feeling the unevenness in the skin. He shook his head moving my hair to look at my own scar I had gotten falling from the balcony, he leaned into kiss me again then began is way down my neck like any normal person would when making out, unfortunately my attention was else where as Nanashi was trying to tell me something…I soon realized Millerna had noticed the gathering of people was investigating the matter.

"What's going on?" She demanded to know as the crew tried to make up some explanation.

"Is something going on out there?" Allen asked trying to look over his shoulder.

"What's wrong is it boring in here?" I asked running my fingers around the rim of his boxers which defiantly caught his attention.

"I though I heard some noise outside?" He answered back shifting in the chair as I nibbled his ear to gain his full attention.

Nanashi turned to warn me that they were failing to keep Millerna at bay so I had to act… I whispered into Allen's ear moving my hands down and leaning close to his chest. I felt his heart beating a little faster then usual but was soon interrupted when the sound of both doors being slammed open caused us to topple backwards. I grabbed Allen's shoulders to brace myself as he in turn grabbed my waist, when I looked up a very pissed off princess stood before us with a bunch of giggling idiots behind her.

"The both of you… conference room…NOW!" She yelled then stormed out.

"Itai." I groaned feeling the pain in my ribs surge.

III

After Allen redressed himself and I took some painkillers for the growing pain in my ribs we walked down to the conference room where Millerna was stood with the other eleven Knights Caeli.

"I see you managed to locate Sir Allen." Said the oldest of the Knights who we knew was the leader.

"Is their something wrong?" Allen asked stood alone as they had asked me to remain outside.

"The princess was telling us about your…display in the stables earlier and just recently how she found you." Allen blushed he couldn't believe this was the reason he had been called before the other Knights. The old man laughed loudly. "Ah! What it must be like to be young again." The other Knights chuckled along with their leader.

"Sir?"

"Come now Sir Allen you are a young, successful man and Alkia-San is a lovely young woman…" Nanashi and I giggled it was like he was getting some lame safe sex talk your parents would give you the moment you brought home a boyfriend. "…You know I am quite aware of Alkia-San's accident, and was very understanding towards you during that time…"

"Yes Sir and I thank you for the time."

"And I understand that you must be very relived to see her well again…but perhaps…you could restrain yourself to the bedroom." That was it Nanashi and I couldn't help but burst out in laughter…Millerna opened the doors and glared at us she wasn't expecting that to be the outcome.

**_A/N: YAY for update…Damn it Nanashi you owe me BIG… sorry for any mistakes ... its too long to reread . _**


	14. Unexpected Departures

**A/N:**** WOOT two updates in a very short space of time YAY me .**

**Chapter 14 Unexpected departures.**

"Oh man that was hilarious. I almost felt embarrassed for him." We were stood in Nanashi's room as she wrapped bandages around my ribs to help with the pain.

"And next week children we have sex education with Sir Allen Schezar." I mocked laughing along even though it hurt.

"I still can't believe you did that, he is such a pervert."

"Yeah well he did resist at first, so I guess you have to give him some credit for not being as much as a pervert as we thought he was."

"Still a pervert though getting turned on by what you said…I still can not believe you said that though." I shrugged as I began buttoning up my shirt. "So what's going to happen now?" Nanashi asked getting back to the serious stuff.

"I don't know. What's the situation with Zaibach?"

"Bad… The council did not take kindly to the matter in Freid and after the whole balcony thing they did a disappearing act. The Allied forces are meeting at some port to being something or something. ."

"Rampant?" I asked hoping my guess was wrong.

"Yeah that's the one…There's something wrong isn't there?" I looked my friend in the eye, she was right there was something very wrong.

"It's a trap."

"WHAT!" Nanashi yelled.

"I don't know, but I do know that we have really messed up the order of things. Rampant isn't till ages away. The Allied forced don't come together till after Zaibach attack Palas directly and Folken should be on our side by then but of course…" I shook my head and sat down. "…We messed things up. As soon as you flew the Escaflowne we changed everything. Some things still overlapped like Freid but you saved the Dragon slayers, Hitomi isn't the main factor anymore. Millerna's wedding has been put off the intensified luck soldiers…Everything thing are way out of our control."

"Well we have to tell them it's a trap!" Nanashi began.

"No. We cannot interfere anymore, we can't be sure of anything."

III

A few days passed and I was feeling a lot better, I had gotten a lecture off the doctor about 'taking it easy' and had to explain it wasn't like that. Somehow _everyone_ knew about what happened in the study although parts of it had changed. The story was that I had been drinking with Nanashi and the crew (which was true) and that I had come across Allen working and went to apologise for yelling at him earlier; (which was also kind of true) and that whilst apologising Allen 'took advantage of me' (which actually was the other way round). So now most people (mainly the maids and older knights) were telling me that just because Allen was older then me and 'experienced' that he shouldn't push me into anything and I had the right to say no. Naturally Nanashi and I found this completely amusing although I did say that I was sorry…later.

I was finally allowed out of the castle and decided to help out at the windmill as it had been made into a area for refugees and orphans and the Escaflowne was being held inside the windmill and I was bound to find Van and Hitomi around there…I managed to get Nanashi to help out too.

"Okay you look like some sort of maid…" Nanashi remarked as we road in a carriage towards the windmill.

"These kids need someone that can comfort them Nanashi. Women that would have been these kids' mothers wore stuff like this. It might make them feel a little better."

"Okay there's that and you got fed up of our worlds favourite pervert liking the leather pants look."

When we arrived we were given baskets of bread and things to hand out, Nanashi worked a little till she found Van and began talking about the arrangements at Rampant.

"She's really good with the little ones…" Van was stood at the side of the windmill his own basket empty.

"Yeah well she should be with four little sisters back home."

"She has a large family?" The short King had never really talked to us before but we know he knew of Hitomi's family, we hadn't really told anyone about our homes.

"She's the oldest of five where as I am the youngest of five…My mom must be going nuts with worry… It will be just like the time with dad." Nanashi looked away from the happy children playing with Merle and Hitomi and out over the city.

"Your father died?" Van asked, he knew what it was like to loose his father, he knew what it was like to loose his whole family for that matter.

"He disappeared. I don't remember much I was still too young but I remember asking where he was and that my mom just cried. My brothers looked after me a lot during the time when we didn't know what had happened…then they found him. He had drove his car off the road when returning form a business trip or something… the worst thing is we were walking through a damned forest when we were transported here, and we doing even know how long we've been away."

"You must be worried for your mother…"

"I worry more for Kari's parents…She comes from a good home and all but they've had a lot to deal with. Hikari for one thing and then she has triplet little sisters that drive them crazy and a sister who is a little older then the triplets but her father works all the hours under the sun and her mom just went back to work, they kind of rely on Kari to do a lot of things. Where as my brothers do everything for my mom especially the oldest two, they managed to help her with dad and they will be there for her again. But whose there for Kari's parents…who's going to explain to her little sisters what happened to her?"

"We will find a way to get you home Nanashi-san." Van assured.

"I hope so."

Nanashi and Van watched as a carriage drew up to a stop where I was talking to some other helpers, they saw my anger at seeing the blonde knight step out. They watched as we talked and as I shoved the empty basket into his arms and storm off down the road to nowhere in particular.

"Okay I guess they had an argument." Van wondered as Hitomi and Merle walked up most likely going to ask if we knew what had happened.

"I'm guessing he moaned at her for being out and that she shouldn't be because she is still on painkillers even though the doctor said she would be okay." Nanashi like usual was correct.

I wondered around the city not wanting to go back to the palace so I could be moaned at even as it started raining because I knew if I entered the palace soaking wet then it would give the damned Knight another reason to moan at me. It soon stopped raining as I came to a small bridge where I stood for a while watching the small fish and flow of water. I heard the slow sound of foot steps walking on the wood and looked up to see who it was walking so slow after the rain fall. I groaned and began to walk way back in the direction I had come and the opposite direction he had arrived from.

"Kari…Wait?" I instinctively pulled my wrist out of his grasp and glared at him. "I wanted to say I was sorry."

"Yeah and I've heard it all before…You can't wrap me up in cotton wool and stick me on a shelf Allen. I know you worry but you have to get over it. If you haven't noticed we haven't really figured out a way to get home yet so I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." It was then it dawned on me…he didn't expect us to get back home. "I am not staying on this planet, I don't belong here." I said distraught, I couldn't believe he expected us to stay. "I have a home and a family that needs me!" I half yelled. "You lost your little sister so you know what it's like to loose someone but I have four little sisters back home who are going to wake up in the morning asking for their Oneechan, and my mom is going to have to explain to them why I'm not there but they're too young to understand that I just disappeared and they are going to ask again and again when am I coming home." I was almost in tears as I stood before the Knight who was just as wet as I was. I had tried not to think of home, to think of how they would feel but now thinking of it, it all just became too much and a broke down in tears.

I didn't want Allen's sympathy, his comfort. He was the reason I was crying why everything had become too much, the reason I had thought of home and become terribly homesick all of a sudden. I didn't want his arms around me as I stood crying, I wanted to be back home with my annoying little sisters and my dad I hardly saw. I felt The blondes' warmth and his heart beat through the thin fabric of his casual ware and it reminded me of when my mother was sick in the hospital with the triplets and my father had held me and told me that she would get better and that the girls would be okay too. I remembered how I had yelled at him that if mother hadn't gotten pregnant, if she wasn't having the triplets then she wouldn't be ill at all. I didn't want to be held and to remember things, I didn't want the rain to start again as it threatened to do so, the rain reminded me of home all too well it always rained at home…but here on Gaea this was the first rain fall we had been witness too.

I calmed down a little and felt Allens arms release me, he tilted my head up but I didn't want to look at him.

"I'm sorry." He muttered.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry is that all you ever say!" I snapped back.

"I've been selfish and stupid… again. I've been wrapped up in my own stupid thoughts that I didn't even think that you might have a family, that you had a life before…" I didn't say anything, I couldn't say anything I was too angry at him. "I guess I was so scared that something would happen to you and that I would never get to say…Goodbye." I knew what was going to happen next, but I just let the knight finish his apology not noticing Nanashi half way down the street.

We walked back to the palace together as he told me about his own sister and his mother whose grave he had been visiting today. I knew all this already but I let him talk, like I had let him kiss me on the bridge…he needed the comfort more than I did and the least I could do was allow him to talk. Nanashi and I would soon leave Gaea and if things went in any way we expected he wouldn't have his sister back, he would still hate his father for leaving his family…it was cruel really to leave him with nothing.

As we walked through the empty streets I told him of my own fears that if anything would happen to Nanashi I wouldn't know what to do on returning home. That Nanashi and I had talked about what we would do and thought that if either of us was unable to return home then it was all or nothing, but naturally we had doubts about that too.

III

"HOE MAH GAWD!" Nanashi came bounding into my room a few days after the windmill and the bridge, obviously wanting to tell me something.

"What?" I asked bracing myself for the over excitement.

"I HAVE A GUYMELEF!!!!" Nanashi screeched hardly being able to contain her thrill of having her own Melef to use. "Come on I'll show you!" The teen dragged me out of my room before I could have the chance to protest. "Isn't it amazing?" She said climbing up to open the pilot hatch. "It's almost exactly the same as Scherazade although the controls are a little lighter…they still have some tinkering to do and they were going to make me a cloak for him and everything." Nanashi sounded like a kid with a new toy although that's exactly what it was.

"It's nice…" I answered unsure on how to react. "It's a he?" Nanashi nodded.

"It's called Basilus. It was pre-named but it kind of reminds me of Basilisk…you know the type of snake which matches it really well since it has this dark green-brown trim and a double bladed sword which is getting cleaned and stuff at the moment although I've seen it and it is so amazing it's like a huge version of Kadaj's." Nanashi could hardly contain her excitement and joy of getting the Melef and carried on telling me all the things she had learnt and that she got to test it properly soon.

"But why do you have it?" I asked ending the teens rant.

"Well…" Nanashi hesitated like I should have known. "…I'm going to fight…at Rampant…You know meeting between the forces? You didn't know?" I just stood gob-smacked. "I thought you knew."

"No I didn't, but it's not that…Why are you going? You know it's a trap!" I couldn't think my best friend had just told me she was going to fight in a war.

"Because I'm going with the flow…You said that things were out of our control now, that we had messed things up so I'm just going with it. I thought that was how we were going to do things now?"

"Well yeah but not fighting…In wars...I think that classes as interfering." I could hardly form sentences; I was in so much shock.

"Yeah well I think carrying on this thing with Allen classes as interfering or was that just going with the flow?" Nanashi snapped back.

"You could get killed."

"And you've gotten in too deep! I was asked to go and be part of this because I have talent…just like you were asked to help with all that political crap."

"Who even asked you?"

"I don't know some general guy. Allen mentioned it too him when I was training using the Scherazade, he watched me train and asked if I wanted to fight." By this time I was fuming…Allen had recommended that Nanashi go off and become part of a possible war, a war in which she could be killed.

"I see you like it!" He had chosen a really bad time to walk in. "I see you've told Kari too. Naturally I will be going as well so I'm afraid you will only have Hitomi and Merle as company."

"I think I can cope." I answered back quite snappish.

"Kari I know you're pissed about me going off but I'll be fine… Really."

"Oh I don't doubt your talent Nanashi-Chan, its just strange how after I tell Blondie here that our returning home policy is both of us or none of us he has you signed up for war."

"Wait! Is this true? Are you trying to get me killed?"

"No… don't be ridiculous. This meeting at Rampant is nothing. How could you possibly think that of me Kari?"

"Well we know quite well you're the selfish type!" I stormed off before another word could be said although I still heard Nanashi laying into him about trying to get her killed. At that point I didn't care if we had been cruel to the Knight he was a dickwad and deserved it.

Nanashi, people and the dickwad left two days after at dawn, I had said goodbye to Nanashi and others that left (like Van and the crew) but was ignoring and had been ignoring the dickwad for the past few days.

It would take them a day and a night to get to Rampant and if I remembered correctly they world arrive at dawn just as Zaibach made their sneak attack on a huge collection of waiting allied forces…I so hoped I was wrong and this wasn't one of those times that the strings of fate over-crossed.

I was bored during the day not having Nanashi to talk to so wondered looking for Hitomi, I knew she would be worried for Van and I was defiantly worried for Nanashi knowing that she was flying straight into a battle. I found her doing laundry with the princess.

"Kari! Have you come to help too?" Hitomi asked quite chipper.

"Sure I guess it wouldn't hurt." I began to place sheets out on the washing line with the other two when Millerna left. "I think she still hates me." I said when she was gone.

"I think she still loves Allen." Hitomi answered back also looking in the direction the princess had gone. "Are you worried for him?" She asked in a tone I knew meant that she had been worrying.

"I guess…"

"Too worried for Nanashi-San huh?" I watched as Hitomi hung another sheet making sure it was flat out on the line. "Do you ever…Wish you were home?"

"Sometimes. But then I have Nanashi here…I'm not so alone."

"It's not that I feel alone…It's…I don't think I can handle the fighting. I know there is going to be a war and I can't stop thinking that what happened to Fanelia and Freid will happen here too." I had forgotten that Hitomi had witnessed the destruction of Fanelia, Nanashi and I had arrived after that. "I just feel that all they ever think about is fighting, that it's the only way." The brown haired teen looked at me as though I had all the answers.

"We tried the political thing and it didn't work. I guess all they have left is to fight."

"But they shouldn't enjoy it! I know that Van enjoys the fighting and it makes me scared. I taught him how to see the unseen…and… I don't want them to fight anymore."

_Rampant…_

"Right Kio set us down nice and easy…" Gaddess commanded as Allen and Nanashi stood in the cock pit.

"What's that?" Nanashi pointed to a shimmering object in the sky that slowly became clearer.

"It's a Zaibach floating fortress…It must be a sneak attack! The harbour's on fire!" Reeden announced.

"Gaddess take us down, I'll go out in Scherazade!" Allen began to run off to the back of the ship as Nanashi followed.

"What about me!"

"Allen I'll go out first and divide their forces." Van had beaten the two to the Guymelef's and was already halfway out. For Allen or Nanashi to leave the crusade at this height would be suicide but The Escaflowne could easily fly down and get closer.

There was no stopping Van in going to help the poor forces that had already assembled and where being annihilated. As they got closer Nanashi recognized one of the Melef's fighting.

"That's Dilandau's Melef! The dragon slayers must be down there too." The Blonde Knight sent a horrifying glare in the black haired teen's direction as she jumped into her own Melef.

"Don't forget what side you're on!"

Van was busy fighting Dilandau as Allen when down - he had already cut through a few Dragon slayers whose names Nanashi couldn't remember - Nanashi was close behind attacking Zaibach Melef's that happened not to be any Dragon slayers as Van covered Allens back.

"This is so amazing!" Nanashi awed as her double bladed sword cut through her opponents armour like it was nothing creating the liquid metal to burn and explode. Van seemed to be taking out enemy forces left, right and centre as Allen fought to keep Dilandau back. Chester (Poor Chester I loved Chester), Viole, Guimel and Dallet had already been killed as Miguel came in to help Dilandau as more of the Dragon slayers were slaughtered by Van.

"DILANDAU-SAMA!" Miguel cried as the young lord seemed to be struggling to keep it together.

"What's going on?" Nanashi stood as Dilandau screamed for his fallen men the disappeared in a pillar of light.

"DILANDAU-SAMA!" Miguel was quick to flee back to the floating fortress as the psychopathic teen vanished.

"We have to return to Palas." Allen ordered surveying the destruction left behind by the sneak attack.

_Back in Palas…_

"It was just like you expected Kari-Chan." Everyone had arrived back and I had gone with Dryden to hear what had happened.

"Why didn't you tell us you expected there to be a trap?" Allen demanded to know.

"Because I wasn't sure!" I snapped back. "Nanashi and I are done with interfering with your planet. We don't know what effect we have had on Gaea's fate already."

"Look it doesn't matter…" Dryden began. "What is important is that Rampant was almost completely destroyed. We have to hold all future allied meetings here in Palas."

"Yes you're right!" Van butted in. "Zaibach will come at us with everything they've got. We could launch a pre-emptive strike; it's going to be either us or them."

"Why is fighting the only thing you can think about?" Hitomi suddenly appeared on the deck of the loading bay.

"Erm…because that's all we have left." Nanashi stated walking up to the pissed off looking teen.

"What are you saying Hitomi? We have to fight to protect you and everyone else." I looked up at Allen I know that was the reason he fought.

"But I saw it!" Hitomi began; Nanashi rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Look Hitomi we tried the peaceful way of doing things but it failed, even Kari's realized that all we have left is to fight."

"But you don't have to enjoy it! I saw what the fighting did to you and I don't want it! I don't want to see it anymore. I just want the fighting to stop! I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!"

I swear my heart skipped a few beats as Hitomi yelled the last part of her speech… Why didn't I see this coming?

"NANASHI GET AWAY FROM HER" I yelled just as a pillar of light came down from the sky and enclosed the both of them. "NANASHI!" I yelled again going to run towards her but to have Allen grab me by the waist. I struggled to get away from him as I watched the pillar of light carry Hitomi and my best friend away.

"NANASHI!"

**A/N:**** TT Okay Nanashi-Chan don't kill me…and sorry for any mistakes ive had a bad day and can't be bothered. **


	15. The reaction of Fate part 1

**A/N: Woah so sorry for the mega late update but hey got one up just before Christmas…So Merry Christmas and I guess ill see you in the new year sometime XD.**

**Chapter 15 The reaction of Fate.**

"Nanashi…Nanashi…Nanashi!" Nanashi rolled over pulling the soft covers over her head mumbling that she wanted five more minutes sleep. She heard the faint sounds of footsteps move and return as she was rudely awoken by ice cold water being thrown on her.

"WHAT THE…! FUCK!" Nanashi cursed as she hit her head on the ceiling. "Itai…" The teen moaned as she heard the familiar laughter of a certain older brother.

"What the hell Taiki!" Nanashi yelled at the youngest of her brothers.

"I'm going out and everyone else is out too so you need to get up." That was the rule of the Hikage household…no one was allowed to sleep in if everyone was out the house; no one really knew why but they guessed it had something to do with their mothers insecurities.

The black haired teen rubbed her head and muttered a few things to keep her brother quiet before he left the house.

"God that was a weird dream…seemed to last forever." Nanashi muttered to herself as she thought over the 'weird dream' she had had as she ate a piece of toast the news on in the background courtesy of her brother forgetting to turn off the TV in the living room.

"_And in local news… Family and friends morn on the year's anniversary of the disappearance of teenager Kari Alkia as the case is officially disbanded yet left open with the verdict 'missing presumed dead'"_

Nanashi stopped in her tracks as the news woman read out the unbelievable.

"Kari isn't here…" Nanashi dropped the piece of toast she was eating as she stared at the TV screen. "Then it wasn't a dream…GOD DAMN IT!" The teen yelled frustrated kicking the nearest thing which happened to be the coffee table. "FUCK!" She yelled even louder her foot now hurting. Nanashi ran up to her room and dressed as quickly as she could…she had to find out what was going on.

As the teen pulled on her boots (the ones she has been transported to Gaea in ironically) she noticed a large scrap book among the number of books on her shelf. Not recognising the book she stopped momentarily and pulled it out to look inside was a number of newspaper clippings dating back a year to a few days ago each one about herself and Kari, Kari's disappearance and the searches involved including the latest about a memorial being set up just outside the forest. Nanashi grabbed her backpack shoved the book in but stopped as she saw the small plush doll sat pleasantly at the bottom. Nanashi took out the plushie and fought back the tears…it was impossible for Folken plush to be here he was still at Zaibach but then again if Nanashi had never been to Gaea then naturally neither had Folken plush. She shoved the plush doll back into the backpack and left her house writing a note on the kitchen board saying she had left, something she remembered always having to do.

Nanashi walked around her home town like no time had passed at all. She had been on Gaea for months although according to the paper clippings she hadn't left at all but been found unconscious 8 hours after entering the forest, there was no sign of Kari just as though she has disappeared from the face of the earth… which she had.

"Nanashi! Hey!" Nanashi stopped and looked around for the source of the strange voice to see a woman in her late 20's walking up towards her. Nanashi felt like she knew the woman but could not place the face.

"Nanashi. I am so glad I got to see you today. I was going to visit to see how you were." Nanashi nodded, she thought this woman must know about what happened today with Kari being proclaimed dead.

"I…I don't know" Were the only words Nanashi could muster.

"I know it must be so difficult for you to accept this…Are you busy? We can go get coffee and talk." Nanashi wasn't sure if she should. "It will be on the house I swear."

"So Nanashi…How did you feel when you woke up this morning?" Nanashi glared at the woman but felt like she should answer honestly.

"Like nothing had happened…like I was waking up on Halloween a year ago about to ring Kari and ask about the meeting arrangements." The black haired teen looked down at her half empty coffee mug

"Hey Nanashi!!" Nanashi looked over to the calls to see Jenbo, Jam-Chan and 'The Twins' walking up to her. "Oh hey Doc thought it was you."

_Doc??? This woman is a doctor…oh God please, don't tell me she's a head doctor…_Nanashi thought to herself.

"Hey if you're not busy we were thinking about going down to that fair that's around. You know the one just outside of town." Jam-Chan chirped up.

"Perhaps that isn't the best idea." The doctor said. "Considering what day it is and all."

"No. Fair is good. I could do with getting out and about more than town." Nanashi grabbed her bag and stood up ready to leave with her friends. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Don't get lost you two. Or we will have to post a missing child call." Jam-Chan mocked until Jenbo hit him across the head noticing Nanashi's expression.

"Look Nanashi it's a fortune teller. Let's go and get our fortunes read."

"Oh like that isn't going to remind Nanashi of Kari." Jam-Chan retorted.

"No it's a good idea… it will be fun. Besides we can rip the piss afterwards."

The group of five piled into the small tent set up for the fortune teller.

A woman with long grey hair walked out from behind a curtain divide "I sense troubled souls." The group tried to hide the giggle. "I see we have some non-believers…" The old woman sat down at the small round table in the centre of this section of the tent and signalled for someone to sit…no one did. "How about you?" the woman asked Nanashi. "I fell like you want some answers."

Nanashi sat down on the wooden chair looking around the small tent, sculptures of heads and hands were laid around the room showing the names off the different sections and lines. Several piles of Tarot cards and crystal balls also lay scattered around the fabric covered floor.

"You name please, forename only." The woman asked as placed a number of cards on the table.

"Nanashi."

"Nanashi...such a lovely name…I see that you have felt great tragedy…the loss of a close one…a father? Although you have father figures that surround you." Nanashi thought nothing of it, anyone who had picked up a paper would know about Nanashi Hikage and her family due to her connections with Kari. "You have lost something…something important but…" The woman wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "It isn't lost…you know exactly where it is…but it is too far to reach…you see this card? One of its meanings is distance." The woman pointed to a card which Nanashi didn't understand.

Kari had read Tarot cards for fun so Nanashi new a few but the pack the fortune teller read were different.

"Great Nanashi that pair of socks you lost are long gone now." Jenbo laughed at Jam-Chan's remark.

"Can I see your palms?" The woman asked after clearing the cards seemingly not noticing Jam-Chan's remark. "Your fate is an unusual one." The woman pointed at a line that ran down the centre of her palm. "It forks out on a number of roads and crosses these other lines you see them? Your fate strongly influences someone else's and even then your life could turn out s number of ways…I have never seen so many possibilities before." Nanashi stared at the lines that ran across her hand.

_My fate influences others…What the hell is that meant to mean?_

"Come on Nanashi lets get out of here, go on a rollercoaster or something."

"Wait child I want to speak with you." The group left Nanashi talking with the old woman promising to catch up at the rollercoaster. "I want to give you this…" The woman held out a tatty, leather bound book.

"Why me?"

"Because it is for you. You are Nanashi Hikage? I recognized you from the description of you in this book."

"That thing looks too old for it to me about me." Nanashi began to leave but the woman insisted so she took it. She couldn't find Jenbo or the others at the rollercoaster so decided to sit with a coffee and read some of the book.

_For my dear friend Nanashi Hikage, My life on this world._

_My name is Kari Alkia I am 16 years old and six months ago give or take me and my best friend were transported to the world of Gaea. At first we thought it was all fun and games till we learnt it was all too real. _

"This can't be right. This is impossible." Nanashi skipped a few pages.

_I have no idea what the date is but I know its winter, maybe the equivalent of November or December? I am slowly learning the date system but it's complicated and have far too many things to deal with. _

_The war ended much like I expected, Zaibach is in almost ruin and the allied countries are trying to help it rebuild…although some don't want it to have any power at all. I have been helping Zaibach politically although am staying with Van in Fanelia as I feel I am not welcome much I Asturia. _

_King Aston died and Millerna was made queen, Allen has slowed his advances probably because he knows I will not be going anywhere any time soon. _

"This is crazy…" The black haired teen decided to confront the fortune teller who had given her the book. "Hey lady! What the hell do you think you're playing at? You think it's funny to mess with someone's head?" The teen yelled.

"I have owned that book since I was a little girl; I found it in a bookstore. Or more it found me. Fell right off the shelf as I walked by. I always found it a lovely tale. I saw the newspapers as we came to this town and thought it wasn't possible but that book has many mysteries to it." The woman's calm expression just annoyed Nanashi more so she stormed off again getting no answers.

_I have had men working on the principles of Gaea for a number of weeks now but everything is just theory. Nothing can be tested through the laws agreed by the world council but I am pretty certain and have been for a number of years._

"Years…"

_Gaea and the Mystic moon…Earth are connected through will and thought. Time is whatever you want it to be. Hitomi's Earth was ten years apart from my own and Nanashi's yet we appeared on Gaea days apart. Leon, Allen's father met Hitomi's grandmother on two occasions however this is impossible as on the last meeting Leon was near death…Allen was eleven…Hitomi's grandmother no older than fifteen. _

_I have known since Nanashi's return to Earth that the time patterns were irregular but Nanashi's return to Earth alone would have corrected it's self somehow. If I had tried to get back I could have appeared weeks, month's even years after she returned however with this new theory I believe we can pin point a time. Leon's last wish before his death was to see 'that girl' again so even though a long length of time had passed on Gaea Hitomi's Grandmother might have only been on earth a day before she was called back. _

"God! Always knew you were a smart arse Kari but that's just confusing." Nanashi flipped to the end of the journal to see the last entry.

_Ten years is a long time, in ten years I have done so much that back home I would never have accomplished although back on earth I doubt I would be dying at 26._

"Dying!" Nanashi hardly recognised the handwriting it was so much more grown up than she remembered it being although ten years was a long time.

_I have held the position of head of the 'Council of Thirteen' for almost eight years, ruling the largest country on Gaea and rebuilding it from near ruin. I have had nine assassination attempts on my life, a minimum of four coming from Asturia, and have faced death twice. A wife and mother I guess my life turned out a little different to how I thought…but 26 is not an age to die…I have been sick since my marriage seven years ago, slowly suffering as this damned illness eats away at my lungs. As I write this everyone thinks I have a fever, pneumonia. It has been a harsh winter in Zaibach and I got sick a number of times. _

_Even though I am grateful for this life I often crave my home on Earth. I want its terrible weather, bad views and estuary posing as a sea. I have thought about my sisters and friends almost everyday wondering how they have been. And as I lay here thinking about all I have done I would still trade it all in just to be back home, getting one last coffee with friends talking about nothing in particular. _

Before she knew it Nanashi was running, away from the carnival and the strange fortune teller, away from the life she knew sucked. Reading over the life Kari had lived she saw glimpses of the year in which she has supposedly lived. People thought she was crazy when she talked about where she and Kari had been, no one trusted her to be alone even when she was. People tried to act normal but life was far from the same. Nanashi had never been able to shift the feelings of guilt which had much like Kari's illness was eating her up inside. So, as she ran to that lake in the forest she thought about the day she disappeared, she thought about Kari's expression as Allen held on to her, stopping her from going after her. She thought about the terror Kari must have felt knowing she was alone and that returning home was far too great a risk.

Nanashi ran full tilt wanting, willing, wishing to get back to Gaea to put things straight.

She had to…She controlled Fate now and she couldn't let it end this way.

**A/N: YAY for update and hey sorry Nanashi-Chan if you did understand all that about time differences I would have asked but its like 1:30 and you've been in bed a few hours now**.


	16. The reaction of Fate part 2

**A/N:**** So as Nanashi was back on earth/ getting back to Gaea this is what I got up to XD.**

**Chapter 16 The reaction of Fate part 2.**

"Nanashi!" I stood just staring at the space where my best friend had been moments ago. I…I was alone.

Night came all too quickly as everyone gathered to discuss the matter of the ambush and Nanashi and Hitomi's disappearance. I didn't feel like sitting around listening to other people talk, heck it wasn't my place to interfere my interference had ended me up alone on a planet in the middle of a war.

"There is nothing we can do about the ambush, not until we understand the full extent of out losses." Dryden talking.

"What about Nanashi and Hitomi?" Merle piped up.

"Hitomi obviously wasn't happy here. Perhaps it's for the best that she's back on her world." Van was sat at the far end of the table, hardly taking any notice.

III

"Princess Millerna has agreed to the marriage?" Two days had passed since Nanashi and Hitomi had left Gaea, I had kept to myself most of that time hearing news that King Aston had been taken ill. Allen was walking down the halls with Dryden when the merchant told him the news.

"I guess the news of the Kings illness pressurised her into making a choice about her future." Dryden thought as he made his way to the library.

"Doesn't that bother you?" The blonde Knight asked, Dryden shrugged.

"And what about you Sir Allen? A little birdie tells me that a certain red head is staying put."

"I don't know what she's decided to do. She's been in the library for the past few days. I thought it would be best to let her have some time alone, let her think." The two men entered the large hall, a pile of books lay on the table along with some notes. I was sat at the window seat, slumped in the corner asleep. Dryden inspected the books as Allen covered me with a blanket.

"She was looking for a way home…"

"Kari!"

"Van? Is something the matter?" I had awoken in the library that morning and was on my way to my room to wash and change as I had slept fully clothed.

"I'm going to get Hitomi back!" The young King said sternly.

"What!" I knew it was coming but didn't expect it so soon.

"I said I was going to get Hitomi back. I know how and…" Van hesitated.

"And thought you might like to share that information even though there is no possibility that _I _could get back home."

"You could always bring Nanashi back here." Van suggested.

"If I get home I might not have the will to come back, but I could show up too late and mess up so much." I saw the pity in Van's dark eyes and at the moment I hated myself. I hated the fact that I was so unsure about what mayhem Nanashi's and my traveling between Earth and Gaea would create; I hated the fact that I was unwilling to take the risk because the outcome was so blurry.

That night Van did leave to bring Hitomi back to Gaea as I made my way to the flat roof of a watch tower to watch the moons, watching Earth.

The halls of the palace were busy with maids and people mulling around preparing for the wedding that would be in a week or so. Dryden was doing his best to avoid the numerous people that wanted him for 'this' or to go over 'that' aspect of the wedding and after so many attempts to get answers form him he directed them in the direction of Millerna or told them to do as they pleased…they soon stopped asking.

"Hey Allen! Have you talked to Kari today?" Dryden asked seeing the blonde knight emerge from a room slightly ahead of him.

"No. I thought it best that she have some time alone." Dryden seemed quite shocked by this answer Allen had already given me time alone.

"You do know that Fanelia went to get Miss Hitomi back?" Allen did a little shrug as if to say 'so'. "Well the girls going to be feeling terrible, you saw the notes. Her research shows that the risk of going home without causing damage is too high."

"The last thing Kari will want is pity. She will want time to think things over." Dryden sighed but Allen was right I would have bitten anyone's head off right about now.

When Hitomi returned I just couldn't stay around the palace so took out my favourite stallion (a moody black one who seemed to dislike everyone else) for a ride almost everyday. Naturally people began to notice my distance and began to worry but I explained that I just wanted to explore the city and surroundings. I returned to the stables very late one evening expecting to get an ear full from the stable boy who I had come to know in the past few days.

"Where have you been? I've had people asking for you since dusk came in!" The stable boy was about four inches taller than me with mousey brown hair and light brown eyes to match; a lot of the maids said he was handsome if you looked past the straw in his hair and horse manure on his clothes; he was also only a year older than me and had this idea that Sir Allen was insanely jealous of him as every time I went out Allen demanded to know where I had gone and that he must be informed of my return…which the stable boy never did.

"I just went further out today, no biggie." I answered leading my horse into his stall and beginning the process of taking off all his riding gear.

"Wait! Is that an injury?" The young stable boy leaned over the stall door and stared at the small wound on my eyebrow. "Man Sir Allen will freak when he sees that."

"Sir Allen hasn't spoken to me in days, nor have I seen him so I don't think this will concern him." The stable boy grinned. "What?"

"You want him to be concerned." He said like he had dug up a big secret or something.

"I do not!"

"Yes you do. Everyday he comes asking around for you even though he knows you left and when I tell you you're always like 'whatever'. Although I don't know why he just doesn't talk to you? I mean come on you just lost your best friend and found out you're going to be stuck here for the rest of your life away from everything to know. If you were my girlfriend I would be all over you until I was sure you wouldn't jump off the nearest watch tower or something."

"I am _not_ Sir Allen's girlfriend. And for your information I can't stand it when people crowd around me."

"So you would rather talk to a horse and a stable boy than to a guy who loves you?"

"That is not what I said." I snapped back, sounding a little too horrified that he had changed my words. "And Sir Allen is _not_ in love with me, I just interest him and he's such a playboy."

"Well whatever. I just know what I see."

After finishing in the stables I headed off to take a shower like I did everyday, I still used Nanashi's bathroom as I my room lacked a shower.

"Look I'm just saying maybe you should tell her how you feel?" Dryden was talking to Allen again.

"I'm with Dryden on the matter. Hitomi's knows how I feel about her and all." Van had also joined the conversation.

"Kari isn't the same as Hitomi, she's so independent and headstrong and I have no idea how she even feels about me."

"I still can't believe you haven't talked to her yet." Van again. "She may act strong but who knows what's going on in that head of hers?"

I stepped out of the shower into the cold air of the bathroom shuddering as I quickly wrapped a large fluffy towel around myself. I sighed and looked at the small gash in my eyebrow in the cloudy mirror, as I stared at the wound I thought what Nanashi's reaction would has been. She probably would have laughed the matter off saying I should have been more careful and told the story of how she had gotten her scar on her eyebrow. As I turned away to grab another towel to dry my hair I caught a strange reflection in the mirror…Nanashi! I quickly turned back and wiped the condensation off the reflective surface only to be confronted with my own image. Before I knew it I had slammed my fists into the weak surface shattering the glass the mirror was made from. I fell to my knees and broke down into tears. Hearing the door open and rushed footsteps on the tiles I clung to whoever comforted me, feeling the throbbing in the side of my hands and the cold air fill the bathroom.

After I had calmed down a little I realized it was Dryden, Van and Allen who had found me in the bathroom. When it dawned on me that I was in nothing but a towel I kicked the boys out and changed into a set of men's pyjama bottoms (women sleep in nightgowns on Gaea which I hate) and a large button up shirt (which I stole of Allen ages ago). The boys and the palace doctor where genuinely surprised when I walked out of the bathroom and into my own bedroom.

"What? You don't expect me to go walking around in a nightdress do you?"

"I heard you were injured Alkia-San?" The doctor said signaling for me to sit down on the vanity table stool.

"It's nothing." I persisted but with the three guys watching me with worried expressions I knew I wouldn't get away with anything. After patching up my hands and eyebrow properly I was left with Dryden, Allen and Van. "Look I don't want to talk about it right now so you might as well just leave me." Dryden and Van did but the Knight stayed. "Allen please. I've hardly slept in days; I just want to be alone."

"You can always talk to me Kari. I'm there for you whenever you need."

A few days passed and the wedding drew closer, I still avoided everyone as much as I could although my slight breakdown in the bathroom had made people worry for me even more then before so I escaped onto the roof of the watch tower at night and went riding in the day.

"So this is where you escaped to?" I sighed as my least favourite person at the moment came up the steps and out onto the roof. "I know you said you didn't want to talk but it's been almost two weeks and…"

"And you're worried for me?" I snapped trying to get the knight to leave.

"Kari you've been through a lot and I know I worry for you but this time I have a right to be." I frowned as he sat beside me. "It's Okay to feel alone and …and…" Allen struggled for words, he had no idea how I felt.

"…and like a piece of crap because I shouldn't even be thinking twice about getting home or getting Nanashi back, but I am because I'm too much of a coward to take the risk of messing things up."

Allen was silent for a moment then he spoke. "I saw your notes…I don't think you're a coward. You're just being logical." I didn't say anything I just laid down and looked up at the bright moons that hung over me. After a minute Allen joined me looking at the moons, he turned his head to the side to look at me.

"Tell me…what is your home like?"

"Are you trying to make me feel worse?" I asked sarcastically. "But there isn't really much to say, you already know about my family."

"Then what about 'Earth?' What is it like there?"

I sighed knowing he wouldn't drop the matter. "I don't know really I've hardly seen any of it. Most of it is water and… it's very beautiful. Earth has mountains like Fanelia and seas like Asturia, huge oceans and vast deserts of sand and snow. We have huge cities made of glass and steel then others of beautifully carved stone rich in history. It's so amazing and we just scratched the surface of what our earth has to offer. We don't have Knights with swords or horses that draw carriages anymore that's part of history and we've never had cat people or dragons it's all myth. But we can give people new hearts and save so many people who looked like they were going to die."

"Remarkable, The mystic moon sounds so advanced; especially medically to think you can give people new hearts."

"Yeah but it's not all good." I turned my face from Allen's questioning eyes, he wanted to know about Earth but man had so much to be ashamed of.

"You have wars on your planet?"

"Everywhere has wars." I answered, I was feeling tired now and the night air was warm.

The blond knight sat up then stood to look over out at the sleeping city. "When this war ends I will go back to my duties on the border fort. You're welcome to stay there or I …I have a home just outside Asturia. I haven't been there in a while but I own a lot of land and I heard you talking with that stable boy about setting up a riding school on your home planet when you were older so you could always do that here. What I'm trying to say is that… whatever you chose to do; when this is all over then I'll support you because…because I …I love you." Silence awaited the Knight after his confession of love. "Kari?" The blonde knight couldn't help but inwardly kick himself, he had been worried about saying how he felt since Nanashi left and when he finally did I had fallen asleep and missed the whole thing.

Allen carried me down to my room as it began to get cold and put me to bed; glad to see that I was finally sleeping…he hadn't seen me asleep since that time in the library.

"Allen?" Millerna had seen him carry me into my room and gone to see of anything was wrong.

"She fell asleep on the roof." He whispered gently closing the door.

"You love her don't you?" The princess asked not looking into the Knights eyes, when he said nothing she knew the answer and it broke her heart.

**A/N: Yeah so I just about fall to pieces… XD…Poor delusional Allen and poor stable boy I never gave him a name, maybe later .**


	17. Back together again or not

**A/N:**** Okay I went a bit overboard for this chapter so it's a little long…but hey since college is starting tomorrow this be the last update for a LONG time ' Gomen. So please enjoy oh and sorry for any mistakes ...i really cant be bothered to go over the whole chapter.**

**Chapter 17 Back together again… or not.**

"Itai!" Nanashi groaned slowly standing up. She looked around to find herself in some sort of room, from the echo of her voice she presumed the room was quite large however apart from a small lamp above her the room was in near complete darkness. "Great I have no idea where I am, or when I could have appeared in this damn messed up time-line." Nanashi strained her eyes to peer out into the darkness that surrounded her; she thought she saw a faint line of light to her left which could have been the line of a doorway. Suddenly the light above her flared a bright white making her cover her eyes to resist the burning light, the teen then heard a 'pop' and the light died.

Nanashi's eyebrow twitched in frustration. "Great…Just FUCKING GREAT." The teen yelled fed up with everything that had happened in the past few days.

More lights suddenly flared up with that dangerous whiteness, when she had opened her eyes Nanashi was greeted by several heavily armed men wearing weird goggles that must have protected their eyes against the glaring light.

"Oh I just give up!" Nanashi moaned crossing her arms…the men then proceeded in taking her way.

"Who the fuck are you and where the hell am I?" Nanashi demanded to know when she was taken to a large chamber and placed in front of a large, brown haired man dressed in full red armour.

"I am General Adelphos, commander of the Copper Army of Zaibach. You are aboard my Fortress."

"Oh Zaibach…great." Nanashi attempted a smile but it turned out quite sarcastic and the general scowled. The Large man turned to a small solider beside him.

"Inform Strategos we have the girl." The solider nodded and left through a side door.

"So what am I doing here?" Nanashi asked getting impatient.

"You are here to help us Miss…"

"Nanashi"

"Nanashi-San, pleasure. Your friend will be joining you when you are transferred to the fortress run by Strategos, he should be here in a matter of days. You are welcome to wonder this fort however please do not destroy anything we are currently sailing above the great western ocean and if we were to crash we would all surely drown." The general instructed another solider to lead Nanashi off to a room and tell her the rules of being about his fortress… Nanashi prayed for the day Folken came to pick her up as the dragon slayers also lived onboard the Vione and she was suddenly reminded that the last time she had seen them they were getting slaughtered.

Nanashi remained in her room as the soldiers on this fort were rude and obnoxious, she did punch one guy in the face for saying something perverted about her only for six more to gang up on her, heavily armed so she made a dash for her room and locked herself in.

When the Vione did arrive she was given a much more decent room with a shower and everything and treated a lot better, she was told that the Dragon slayers had all but died apart from Dilandau and Miguel but they were back at the capital. Folken was also too busy to be disturbed and she began to miss Kari's company.

"I wonder what she's up to" Nanashi wondered as a solider named Atsuko (which was weird as that is commonly a female name) brought her some fresh towels.

"I don't know Nanashi-Chan; Perhaps she is wondering the same thing about you?"

"Does she know I'm here? I mean in Zaibach and everything. They said she was coming here."

"If she is coming here then I expect she does. I expect she is waiting much like you are. The hot water has been directed to your room so I would not dawdle before your shower or it will be cold." Nanashi nodded and thanked Atsuko; she really did prefer the company of Folken's soldiers than the Generals.

Nanashi swore as she stepped out the shower and slipped on the tiled floor hitting her head on the sink, the small room had no window so everything steamed up and condensation had built up everywhere.

"Oh bloody hell…I hope it doesn't scar. Kari will freak." Nanashi stared back at her reflection looking at the small cut on her forehead, as she blinked she thought she saw something but cursed again as she knocked over a tub of powder onto the floor.. "Shit! Today just isn't my day." She said to herself shortly becoming distracted by a sharp cracking sound. Nanashi looked up to see that the mirror had cracked. "Huh?" As she inspected the mirror she realised that the cracks radiated from the centre as though someone had hit the glass.

III

"Hitomi…" Princess Millerna was stood in the central yard of the palace hanging out white sheets as she insisted on doing something to keep her mind off the wedding that was the next day at noon. "I was wondering…would you read my fortune for me?" Hitomi stopped to face the princess, she could easily tell she was nervous about the marriage but there was something else.

"Is something wrong Millerna?" Hitomi saw the sadness in the princesses deep blue eyes.

"He loves her Hitomi." Hitomi almost muttered an 'Oh' but stopped herself as this might have been rude. Everyone knew of Millerna's feelings towards Allen but then again everyone knew Allens feelings for me, it was hard to miss the uncomfortable air between us in this past week as I faced my life on Gaea, Hitomi's return a few days ago had made matters worse from her point of view as I had become a near recluse, however everyone knew that the Knight had been restless with my behaviour.

"Did he say?" Hitomi nervously asked.

"He didn't have to…I saw it in the way he looked at her. I saw it in his eyes. He loves her Hitomi but I care about him so much. Everyone knows about them, I heard the guards call Kari his Girlfriend but no one knows how Kari feels for him." Hitomi shifted under Millerna's harsh gaze, she reminded Hitomi of her best friend back Home, this was exactly the way she would have acted if she found out her crush was taken.

Hitomi had come to Gaea with a crush herself, another person on her track team who looked too much like Allen for comfort. This had immediately directed Hitomi to the Knight but when Nanashi and I arrived and he latched on to me Hitomi got closer to Van. She thought perhaps Millerna needed to spend more time with Dryden, to stop her thinking so much about Allen however she was like some crazed fan girl.

"I…I think she might have feelings for him." Hitomi muttered knowing this would upset the blonde.

"Then I have to tell her!" Millerna stated boldly. "Allen has secrets that she needs to know, if she cares for him she needs to know. I have to tell Kari." Hitomi was slightly confused on what Millerna was ranting about but I appeared from behind a sheet holding a basket of washing and asked myself.

"Tell Kari what?"

"Kari! Erm…I know you don't like me and I'm not trying to pry its just if you do have feelings for Allen I think you should know something. A secret of his." I shrugged and placed the wicker basket down picking up a sheet and two wooden pegs.

"He doesn't have any secrets from me." I answered back sounding quite condescending.

"You know!" Gasped the princess. "How did you find out?"

"If your talking about Chid, then I worked it out…he also told me later."

"WHEN!" Millerna half shrieked.

"After the incident with Lord Folken." Millerna and Hitomi both gawped at me. "What? He said he had no right to be jealous, and told me all about his relationship with your sister…including the part about Chid." Millerna's eyes lit up as I realised my mistake with my wording.

"So you _did_ kiss Lord Folken!"

"I erm…" Millerna looked like the cat that had got the cream…I had to knock her down a peg. "Yes. It's true I didn't resist Lord Folken's advances however…Allen forgave my moment of weakness and we kissed and made up although he was too worried about my being pushed off the balcony to really care about the matter anyway." I saw the princess slowly fuming before she stormed off. I sighed and carried on hanging out the laundry.

That night Hitomi agreed to read Millerna her fortune using her Tarot cards. On her way to Millerna's room she came across Allen and me quietly talking in one of the many studies. I was sat at the window seat as the knight paced around finally kneeling at my side.

"How are your hands?" He asked gently resting his own over the bandages.

"Healing." I answered back simply, not looking at him. The knight caressed my cheek to gain my attention but he didn't say anything, he just read my expression.

He didn't like how I constantly gazed at the moon, how I constantly looked back towards home but it seemed brighter to me somehow since Hitomi's return and looking at it made me feel relaxed and calm. Hitomi moved on leaving us to our silent conversations.

Hitomi looked over the cards as she went to place the last one, thoughts of Millerna and Allen together crept into Hitomi's mind but then she would think about what she had just seen, in a way she knew my feelings for Allen were not sincere but my situation had changed, I was alone now and just like how Hitomi's own loneliness had directed her to Van would my new found loneliness draw me closer to the one person that cared at this present time. Millerna looked over nervously as Hitomi drew the last card.

The Tower!

Hitomi dropped the cards as she saw the terrifying image of the tower being hit by lightening and crumble, large boulders falling on the people below. It was then Hitomi realized if the wedding went through then something terrible would happen, she gazed down at the tower card in her hand and noticed 'The Emperor' card turned face up beside her…Good fortune. Hitomi concentrated on the cards willing that Millerna's fortune be changed. If Millerna Married she would surely see Dryden's good sides and slowly get over the blonde knight.

"Hitomi is everything alright?" Millerna asked her voice full of worry.

"Yes…The cards say that you will be happy."

The princess sighed. "Happy…Yes happy with Dryden."

The next day the whole of Asturia lined along the rivers to watch the procession towards the outside monastery where princess Millerna and Dryden would be married. I was stood alongside Van and Hitomi as all twelve Knights Caeli lined up to salute the Princess as she passed under their drawn swords. I caught a quick glimpse of a smile of Allen but acted as if I hadn't seen turning to speak with Hitomi.

"You don't seem yourself today Hitomi?"

"Oh it's nothing…But you seem a lot better."

I shrugged. "The Crusade crew have been trying to cheer me up."

Silence swept through the crowd as the music began and the princess and Dryden walked down the aisle, mummers of how beautiful she looked and how proud King Aston must be were heard throughout. I couldn't help but notice Hitomi's fidgeting as the couple said their vows.

"Hitomi what is it?" I whispered getting a disapproving '_shhhh_' of some random woman.

"This wedding is all wrong. Something terrible is going to happen. I saw it in Millerna's cards…but I…" Hitomi was cut off as the crowed began to clap and the priest said the whole 'you may kiss the bride'.

"NO DON'T!" Hitomi yelled jumping through the crowd. "STOP!" The brown haired teen tripped over a large fold in the red carpet that had been used as the aisle…she was too late. The couple kissed and looked back to see what the disruption was.

"Hitomi!" I darted out of the crowed as Hitomi stood and the sky went dark…something had blocked out the sun.

"Oh no!" People began to panic at the coming of the sudden darkness, then someone screamed as two large Melef's fell from the sky. The knights all ran to their own Guymelef's which were all near by but as soon as they started up they froze.

The priest, Dryden and Millerna were still stood gob-smacked at the alter. As people scattered I heard Van call out for Hitomi, Merle and myself. I tried to spot him but the crowd was too large…I condemned my shortness.

"VAN!" I cried out trying to tell him I had heard him. Suddenly a large bolt of lightening struck the tower of the alter, I didn't see what happened to the newly-weds as someone crashed into me sending me flying to the hard floor.

"KARI!" Allen must have seen me go down as he franticly tried to get his Melef working. The crowd had disappeared as the two Melef's (which belonged to the intensified luck soldiers Eriya and Naria) destroyed the surroundings. I attempted to stand but was too dazed to really figure out what was going on.

"Is that her?" Eriya asked her older sister.

"Lord Folken said we were after the girl who was close to his dearest little brother. The one close to the dragon."

As I tripped over something I found I suddenly couldn't move my arms or legs, as if they were bound. My heart beat faster as I felt a horrible cloud of terror sweep over me but it wasn't me it …it was Nanashi! I could hear her screams of language as she thrashed out at the people that tried to bind her. I heard the screams of terror as I saw the array of strange looking equipment be pulled closer as needles were crudely inserted into veins along Nanashi's arms, legs and even in her neck. I found myself shaking as I heard one final glass breaking scream an I was pulled out of the horrid vision.

"Kari! Kari! Talk to me." I blinked the forming tears away to realize that Allen was and had been trying to snap me out of the vision, or was it a premonition? "Kari we have to get out of here. None of the Guymelef's are working." He helped me stand and we began to make our way towards shelter. One of the Cat Girls swept her liquid metal claws through the buildings around us creating a small avalanche of rubble.

"Look out!" Someone yelled to us. I looked up (as you do) as Allen did a sort of rugby tackle and roll so we avoided the falling rock and so as he pushed me out of the way I landed on him.

III (Got bored so skipped a bit….insert Van saving Hitomi, Luck soldiers going away Blah, Blab, Blah … Meh it's in the anime ¬¬)

"How is everyone?" Dryden asked walking into the large meeting room where we had gathered.

"Allen hurt is arm but I think everyone else is okay." Merle chirped finding it amusing that the blonde Knight was injured.

I had been quiet since we had returned to the palace, I couldn't help thinking about Nanashi and what I saw. I prayed it was a premonition and that there was still time to rescue her.

"Gaea to Kari! Calling Kari!" Merle waved a hand in front of my face to bring me out of my thoughts. "Damn girl you space out just as much as Hitomi." I laughed a little, stood up and stretched. I had made up my mind. I was going to get her back and for some strange reason I knew exactly where she was. On board the Vione which was just out to sea.

"Van I need you to do me a favour." I said meekly, trying to make sure no one was listening.

"Huh? What is it Kari?" he asked bewildered.

"I need you to take me out to the Vione."

"What!" Van yelled then repeating more quietly "What the hell? Why would you want to be taken there?"

"Nanashi is there." I said trying to sound assertive. "They plan to do something terrible to her…if they haven't already. I need to save her." I saw Van think it over before he sighed and stood up.

"It will be suicide going alone and I know if I say no then you would. So sure I'll help you get her back."

"Which way did you say it was?" Van asked over the roaring winds. We had both managed to sneak out of the Palace and to the windmill where the Escaflowne was still housed and were now flying out to sea by moonlight towards the Vione.

III

Nanashi wondered the halls of the Vione, she had now managed to figure out where she was and wasn't allowed to go and was exploring a section that came off of a section that she wasn't really supposed to go in.

"Okay I am officially lost." Nanashi moaned as she walked along a dimly lit corridor however the teen had learnt not to mess around with floating fortress lighting. She found it odd how the Generals fortress seemed to have electric lighting but no running water where as the Vione had a system of pipe work that allowed for running water but only gas lighting and in some areas the only light was from candles. Nanashi heard some voices further down the hall and decided to make her presence known and seek help on getting back to an area she knew. She crept along the corridor hugging the wall just encase the voices belonged to some not so nice soldiers.

"I heard that those cat twins of Lord Folken's failed to bring the girl…" One of the men said, Nanashi didn't recognize the voice so peered around the corner to find a pair of men she too to be sorcerers (from the long cloaks they wore) stood talking.

"Yes. It is a shame to see that experiment fail." Said the other man who was tall and wore glasses. "What about that other girl? The one from Adelphos…have orders come through yet?"

Nanashi listened intently on the men's conversation. So someone had been attacked but was it Kari or Hitomi and what were these orders concerning her?

"Lord Folken said we were not to touch the black haired child." The one who didn't wear glasses answered back seeming quite afraid of betraying Folken's orders.

"Adelphos is above that fool Folken. If Emperor Dornkirk say the experiments are done then they are done! Folken doesn't _always_ have to know what we get up to…even if it is on his own ship."

Nanashi's blood ran cold at the word '_experiment_' and she swore she almost fainted from the thought until she heard the heavy footfalls of the men and made a quick dash for it down the hall where she had come…screw asking for directions.

"What the! It's the girl!" Nanashi ran for her life as the sorcerers spotted her having no idea where she was going turning corner after corner until she ran into a couple of large guards who picked her up and dragged her to her near doom.

"LET ME GO YOU FUCKING ARSEHOLES!!! JUST YOU WAIT TILL FOLKEN HEARS ABOUT THIS!!! HE WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR DEFYING ORDERS. FUCK OFF!! LET ME GO!!!" Nanashi trashed as hard as she could but the men had a iron grip over her as they took her into a dark cold room and strapped her down to a metal table. "LET ME GO!!!" Nanashi screamed.

_Meanwhile…_

"Van you have to hurry." I begged feeling the same heart racing terror I had felt back at the wedding. "Van there! Do you see it?" I pointed over to a point in the sky where if you looked at it just right the air seemed to shimmer.

"Yeah. Brace yourself." The plan was that Van would attack the Vione and try and get the stealth cloaks to malfunction so we could find a suitable entrance for me to jump aboard and begin the attack…hopefully everyone would be too busy with Van they would not notice me much and allow me to find Nanashi…hopefully. I had decided to be ready so wore a cut up white and red Kimono which was shortened to rest above my knees and no longer had the traditional long sleeves but torn up ones so they wouldn't get in my way as I fought. The Large wraps around my waist held two long swords, a shorter sword, a few daggers as well as my trusted extending staff. I also wore a simple pair of fold over ankle boots and wore my hair up in a pony tail.

Van struck a number of times finally succeeding in destroying the cloaking device.

"There…I see an entrance." Van directed the Escaflowne down to a open loading bay…it would be difficult to get to it as a number of Guymelef's were lining up along it trying to the fire at the flying Melef. "Its too dangerous Kari…we have to look for another entrance." Van circled around the Vione keeping the Melef's in his line of sight.

"There aren't any other entrances." I pointed out as we flew higher soaring over the command centre that had a glass roof… "Think I could get in that way?" I asked looking down.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" Van yelled as I stepped up to peer down over the wings of the Escaflowne.

"You could at least get a little closer." I mused preparing to jump.

"But the room is completely full of people." Van protested yet gliding in closer so I wouldn't kill my self as much.

"I don't plan to go in through the glass that would be suicide…I see a sort of balcony. I should be able to get in through their from landing on the glass roof."

"Okay!"

"See you soon!" As I jumped out of the Escaflowne I saw all the men in the command room look up to watch me land. I looked down at the men as I landed in a kneeling position. "Perfect landing." I went to stand as I heard a slight cracking and looked down as my foot hold gave way. "SHIT! WATCH OUT BELLOW!" I yelled as I fell though the glass, as soon as I landed I drew my sword and stood prepared. Everyone just stood staring at me. "Really need to sort that glass out…breaks really easy." A second of silence passed over the room.

"Get her!" One guy yelled starting the wave of soldiers coming after me. I knew I was easily out numbered so ran. "SHITSHITSHITSHIT!" I ran as fast as I could down the corridors using my dowsing skills to locate Nanashi which proved quite easy after I heard her screams. I fought off some trailing soldiers and barged through the room.

"What the...?" The group of men were cut off as I charged into the room and knocked them all unconscious.

Nanashi was moments away from being hooked up to all the random and unusual machines in the room. "MY FAVOURITE SHORT RED HEAD I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU!! I was going to be used as a lab rat." Nanashi moaned as I unbolted the restraints. "It's not been a very good week. Back home I was seeing a head doctor and I met this crazy lady and then I was here and then I was on this really mean general's ship but Folken came to pick me up and the weirdest thing happened! Oh and… YOU TOOK YOUR BLOODY TIME!!"

"Yeah well sorry…had a lot to deal with." I handed Nanashi one of the swords and we made our way to hopefully the exit but was cut off a number of times by soldiers.

"Come on I've got an idea." Nanashi dragged me off to a large area where they were currently repairing Melef's.

"We are not stealing a run down Guymelef."

"Who said anything about stealing…we're just going to destroy a few things…" Nanashi grinned inanely jumping into a Melef.

"Right… and direct them towards us." But I hardly had any more time to protest as Nanashi proceeded to rip holes through the outside walls and every other possible wall or surface she could destroy.

"Do you think that done it?" The teen asked as a loud siren sounded and explosions could be heard going off all over the Vione. "What's that?"

"Must be Van." I answered plainly walking up to one of the new holes in the wall. "YO VAN!" I yelled as I spotted him still circling.

Nanashi and I managed to jump aboard the Escaflowne just as the Vione began loose altitude and sink into the sea.

"Nice to have you back Nanashi-san." Van said as we turned back towards the windmill.

"Wait!" I ordered. "Do you see that?" I pointed towards the Vione as what looked like a Melef took off and flew west.

"Someone got away?"

"Give you one guess who." I tugged on Van's shirt to gain his attention. "We have to go to Fanelia." I said as the young King flew on to the windmill.

"Why…there's nothing there?"

"Your brother is there!" I yelled over the wind as we were now flying into the gusts.

It didn't take long for Nanashi and me to convince Van to fly to Fanelia …mainly thanks to Nanashi threatening to throw him over the side and Hijack the Escaflowne, something she was quite capable of. So before we knew it we were saying goodbye to Palas and Asturia and praying we wouldn't be murdered by Allen, Hitomi and Merle when we returned.

By time we arrived it was almost noon, the sky was clear and the ruined city looked almost beautiful. Van landed the Escaflowne just outside the ruins of the capital city and told us to be careful on that he had seen some dragons close to the area.

"They shouldn't be roaming this close to the city yet, it's too early." The king stated as we wondered the quiet streets, the only sounds being our own footfalls and the cries of the occasional dragon.

"Nanashi get down…show some respect!" I hissed as she clambered around the ruins of houses using them as one large climbing frame.

"But there is a better view up here. I can see some dragons!" The black haired teen jumped over a small gap which once would have been a one person alleyway and carried on moving slightly closer to the dragons.

"Nanashi be careful!" I had just about lost sight of her as she continued to navigate the city via roof. "I best go after her." I said to Van who seemed on edge, he just nodded telling me to be careful of the Dragons (and to knock some sense into Nanashi as dragons were highly dangerous)

I wondered the city looking for Nanashi, coming to a section where the homes were still quite intact if you looked past the burn marks and fallen in roofs. The streets were also wider and more sloped here to compensate for the mountain. I though I heard some clattering so took a short cut through a house only to come face to face with a dragon. I stepped to the side nervously drawing my sword though instinct more than anything. The dragon just looked at me with one large yellow eye as I lifted my sword, I heard the deep rumble of a growl emitting from the Dragon suddenly I was grabbed from behind and pulled into a small side street a hand covering my mouth so I wouldn't scream, another arm held down my right arm which held my sword.

"Don't be afraid." I didn't relax even though I recognized the voice; it was hard to relax when you saw your own reflection in the yellow eye of a dragon. "Drop your sword." The soft whisper instructed, I did immediately. "Relax." I tried not to focus on the dragon that still glared at me as it moved his head to get a closer or better look as it considered us for its next meal. We didn't move an inch as the dragon blinked and moved on, I let out a little sigh of relief as the man who had saved my life released his grip.

"Kari!" I heard Nanashi's calls for me, she sounded excited; most likely just having seen the dragon just leaving.

"Van is here." I simply said receiving a nod of acknowledgement before I picked up my sword and stepped out to see Nanashi.

"Did you see it!" Nanashi was bounding around hardly able to contain her joy. "It was amazing! And just walking around the city." I laughed along with my friend as we decide to find Van and regroup.

He was near the centre of the city and glad to see we were alright although looked annoyed. "Come on lets get out of here." He said walking out into a large court sounded on three sides by towering walls.

"But Van!" I tried to stop him but he was obviously annoyed that Folken had not showed himself.

"Erm…Guys." Nanashi was behind us but she had looked ahead and noticed a very large land dragon making its way towards us. We looked around and spotted a few more stood above us. Van drew his sword and pushed me back to stand with Nanashi.

"Van your sword… drop it!" I demanded remembering what Folken had made me do. But the King didn't listen and the Dragon moved in closer. We were tapped with no means of escape, there was no way we could out run four hungry dragons with only three parts of pray.

"Okay I know dragons are cute and all but this not a situation I would like to remain in!" Nanashi stepped back

"Van just drop your sword." I asked again my question sounding more like a plea.

"What and let them just eat us!" Van watched the dragons intently ready to make his move as soon as they did. The dragon in front of us roared and Nanashi and I took another step back.

Just as we thought we were dinner the sun was blocked out momentarily by what looked like a strange bird it was then we noticed it was actually Folken flying over the dragons to land before us.

"Drop your sword Van!" Folken commanded boldly standing before the dragon.

"What is this!" Van yelled angered that Folken would show himself now.

"It is your rage and fears that draw the dragons to you Van, let go of your hate and drop your sword." Van scowled.

"Like I will fall for that! Look at what you have done to your homeland." The king continued to yell as the Dragons Folken was not facing moved in.

"It is true that I failed to slay the dragon as part of the right to become king, but I did not abandon Fanelia. The Dragon took my arm and I lay facing it ready to die." We noticed the Dragons backing off slightly as Folken told us his story and lowered his wings. "I awoke and found myself in Zaibach. I owed my life to Emperor Dornkirk and served him learning of his ideas of a perfect world, one without fighting, without fear."

"A world without fighting…" Van repeated the words and was reminded of the council meeting where it was agreed this seemed an ideal view but the methods… "But look around! Look at all the people that have died! Fanelia, Freid, Asturia all have suffered because of this!"

"And that is exactly why we need to end this bloodshed." Van dropped his sword and the dragons slowly turned around and left. Folken turned to face us; picking up the dropped sword and looking at the Fanelian royal crest. "A king is destined to fight, so I wanted to lift that burden from your gentle shoulders. I was my wish to see that new world with you however," Folken drove the Sword into the ground and looked away, ashamed of himself. "Dornkirk's methods…No _our_ methods…placed little value on human life. Those methods were wrong." The older of the two brothers turned around again to face his younger sibling holding out a clawed hand. "Van, come join me to defeat Dornkirk…" The wind began to blow sending loose feathers into the sky. Van looked back at his brother.

"Brother…Your wings!"

III

On returning to Asturia the royal council who consisted of Dryden (since King Aston was still ill), Allen, Van, interior minister, foreign minister, finance minister, military minister, and Meiden (A/N: Thanks to the Escaflowne Compendium for that random information) met to discus Folken seeking asylum they allowed him to stay on the condition he would reveal all about Zaibach's plans…which he did.

"Hey Nanashi you coming?" I asked knocking on the door which adjoined our rooms even though it was open.

"Coming where? And what happened to my mirror?" The back teen asked as she emerged from her bathroom.

"Erm long story…I thought we were going to help out at the church, you know like we did at the windmill." Nanashi raised an eyebrow.

"So what's with the leather pants and sword." She asked picking up her own which was propped up against a vanity table. Nanashi had constantly made a big fuss out of getting trousers in her size so we had worn modified dresses or men's clothing that again we had changed when our trousers were being cleaned to avoid actually wearing the long typical dresses of Asturia. Nanashi even if in a personalised dress had always carried a sword but I had refrained from doing so.

"Its always good to have a bit of protection and you can hardly ride a horse in a skirt." I ginned as Nanashi grabbed a jacket and we made our way down to the stables to get my horse.

"Yo Kenta long time no see." Nanashi waved as we walked in to the near empty stables… a lot of the royal guard and Knights were out helping around the city.

"Yo Ashi-Chan. I see you're back safe and sound."

"Hey Diablo. Did you miss me." I said stroking the nose of my lovely black stallion, getting an affectionate nudge and neigh in return.

"I'm not sure what I'm worried about more. You talking to the horse or the fact the Horse understands you. And why Diablo? Isn't that like devil or something?" Nanashi asked now worried about what I exactly got up to while she was gone.

"I'll show you why!" Kenta pushed me aside and stood facing Diablo. "Come on Diablo old pal, time for a wash." The stable boy reached out to take hold of his Halter, Diablo stepped back into his stall and huffed at Kenta. He reached again this time to have Diablo rear and neigh and go to bite Kenta's hand. "Woah!" Nanashi and I laughed as Kenta fell back.

The two of us took Diablo up to the church which was being used as shelter for people that had lost their homes. Van, Hitomi and Merle were already there giving out blankets and food boxes. The day passed relatively slow until it got to the late after noon when The newly wed couple arrived with a following of Soldiers.

"Hey is Blondie still pissed that you took off with Van and forgot to tell him?" Nanashi noticed the uncomfortable air as he walked right past me following Millerna and Dryden into the building, his arm was a lot better but if challenged in a fight he would easily loose.

"What gave you that idea, You know he had the nerve to tell me off for going and rescuing you like that. He said I should have waited till official back up was available."

"Official back up!" Nanashi retrained herself from yelling her head off and storming up to Allen to rip off his head. "Who knows what could have happened to me in the time it took them to do that!"

"Onee-san!" Nanashi turned round as she felt a tugging on her sword. "Why do you have a sword Onee-san and you too Onee-Chan." The little girl who had approached us asked tugging on my own sword.

"Dangerous times kid." Nanashi answered bluntly patting her on the head. The kid looked like she was going cry as Nanashi backed away.

"Way to go Nanashi…make the kid cry?" I knelt down to be at the same level as the girl. "Onee-san and I wear swords so we can help protect everyone like the Soldiers and Knights do."

"But you and Onee-san aren't soldiers." The little girl whined.

"Even soldiers need a little help from time to time." The little girl smiled and ran off obviously content with my answer.

Nanashi crossed her arms and turned her back "Show off…"

"Kari-San!" Nanashi and I looked over as Millerna came towards us.

"What the hell does she want?" Nanashi mumbled.

"I hardly recognized you in that outfit. And why on earth would you be carrying a sword? That's not very ladylike. What would people think if they saw you like that in the company of Sir Allen."

"Probably that he's fed up with girly girls like you." Nanashi whispered so only I could here. We both giggled.

"Hey Kari! You staying here?" Nanashi asked coming into my room, a number of the crusade crew were heading into town and had invited us to join them.

"Yeah I've had enough excitement to last me a lifetime and I really get some sleep now I don't have you to worry about"

"Hey I didn't ask you to worry for me… but if you're sure I'll see you later. Ja-ne." I closed the double doors and sighed. I would hopefully get a good nights sleep for the first time in weeks.

I turned off the lamps and closed the floor length windows so the cold night air wouldn't wake me in the middle of the night. "Finally…" Just as I pulled back the covers I got that strange feeling you get when you're being watched, I looked around the dark room; listening for the slightest sound. "God Kari…What's the matter with you." I said to myself. " Nanashi's right I really need to relax more."

"Time to go to sleep girly!"

"What!" The sudden voice caught me off guard and before I knew it I had been overpowered by a group of gecko people and a cloth which I presumed to be soaked in chloroform was placed over my mouth and nose. I tried to fight the sleepiness but the darkness was overpowering and I was soon unconscious.

**A/N: XD …And in the next chapter I have the worst week ever…seriously…it sucks.**


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